CostGrade
A

92/100

#53 nationally

Merrimack Health Lawrence Hospital

One General Street, Lawrence, MA 01841 · (978) 683-4000

Charges close to what care is actually paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Merrimack Health Lawrence Hospital billed $2.10 in list charges. That gap does not change a Medicare patient's bill — but it is where an uninsured or out-of-network bill starts.

Charge-to-payment
2.1x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
91
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in MA
#20
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
2/5
shown for context, not in the grade

How this grade was reached

Each component is scored against every other U.S. hospital in the same federal files, so the grade is a position in the country, not a pass mark we invented.

Inpatient charge markup 31.3/35

Better than 89% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 23.8/25

Better than 95% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 27.6/30

Better than 92% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 9.5/10

Better than 95% of U.S. hospitals.

What this hospital treats most

The ten procedures it billed Medicare for most often, with its charge beside the national middle.

Procedure Patients Charged Actually paid vs national
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

448 $8,822 $2,919 -55%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

262 $37,474 $18,553 -43%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

208 $22,615 $12,637 -48%
Respiratory Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay

115 $27,725 $15,906 -50%
Level 4 Urology and Related Services

APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit

110 $9,527 $3,717 -54%
Pneumonia (severe)

MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay

104 $23,445 $12,883 -50%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

92 $6,419 $1,741 -36%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

79 $17,908 $7,606 -55%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

79 $9,197 $3,345 -52%
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)

MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay

78 $21,803 $8,661 -27%

Where its charges run furthest above the national middle

Only procedures it performed at least eleven times, so a single unusual case cannot produce the headline.

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)

MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay

$21,803 $8,661 -27%
Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence without Rehabilitation Therapy without Major

MS-DRG 897 · Inpatient stay

$23,088 $9,235 -29%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

$9,049 $2,169 -30%
Kidney Failure (with complications)

MS-DRG 683 · Inpatient stay

$21,173 $8,816 -36%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

$6,419 $1,741 -36%
COPD (severe)

MS-DRG 190 · Inpatient stay

$26,582 $11,015 -36%
Pneumonia (with complications)

MS-DRG 194 · Inpatient stay

$19,741 $8,032 -38%
Irregular Heartbeat (severe)

MS-DRG 308 · Inpatient stay

$29,364 $11,785 -38%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 4 Vascular Procedures

APC 5184 · Hospital outpatient visit

$8,681 $5,902 -76%
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)

MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay

$65,267 $41,658 -63%
Level 5 ENT Procedures

APC 5165 · Hospital outpatient visit

$12,993 $6,289 -62%
Digestive Disorder (severe)

MS-DRG 391 · Inpatient stay

$19,423 $12,101 -62%
Level 5 Urology and Related Services

APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit

$10,704 $5,557 -61%
Chest Pain

MS-DRG 313 · Inpatient stay

$13,244 $7,295 -61%
Pulmonary Embolism with Major Complications or Acute Cor Pulmonale

MS-DRG 175 · Inpatient stay

$21,761 $14,378 -60%
Heart Attack (severe)

MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay

$24,579 $14,639 -60%

What this page cannot tell you

  • It is not your bill. These are averages across Medicare patients. What you pay depends on your insurance, your plan's negotiated rate and your own case.
  • It is not a quality rating. A hospital with a high markup may be excellent, and one with a low markup may not be. We checked: across every U.S. hospital, markup and the CMS quality star rating barely move together.
  • A charge is not a cost. Hospitals do not collect their list charges from insured patients. The number matters because it is the opening figure on an uninsured or out-of-network bill.
  • Ask for the real number. Every U.S. hospital must publish a machine-readable price file and give you a written good-faith estimate on request.