37/100
#1,687 nationally
Musc Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown
2435 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC 29204 · (803) 256-5300
Charges far above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Musc Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown billed $6.04 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
- 6.0x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 103
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in SC
- #28
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 3/5
- 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.
Better than 29% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 35% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 48% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 32% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
501 | $13,132 | $2,844 | -48% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
276 | $113,295 | $11,506 | +81% |
|
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit |
170 | $56,836 | $9,480 | -16% |
|
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit |
168 | $31,044 | $3,521 | +50% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
159 | $65,509 | $13,566 | about average |
|
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures
APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit |
150 | $164,142 | $20,689 | +24% |
|
Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures without Major Complications
MS-DRG 274 · Inpatient stay |
130 | $134,824 | $22,442 | +8% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
119 | $9,673 | $1,422 | -4% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
116 | $32,168 | $8,440 | -26% |
|
Heart Attack (severe)
MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay |
101 | $44,839 | $10,274 | -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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$113,295 | $11,506 | +81% |
|
Level 3 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5493 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$42,590 | $4,647 | +76% |
|
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$35,336 | $2,848 | +73% |
|
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$19,168 | $1,461 | +68% |
|
Hip or Knee Replacement (without major complications)
MS-DRG 470 · Inpatient stay |
$125,599 | $12,651 | +57% |
|
Extracranial Procedures without Complications/mcc
MS-DRG 039 · Inpatient stay |
$81,273 | $7,652 | +53% |
|
Level 5 ENT Procedures
APC 5165 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$52,294 | $5,207 | +52% |
|
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$31,044 | $3,521 | +50% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pulmonary Embolism without Major Complications
MS-DRG 176 · Inpatient stay |
$15,292 | $5,438 | -56% |
|
Circulatory Disorders Except Heart Attack, with Cardiac Catheterization without Major
MS-DRG 287 · Inpatient stay |
$27,692 | $7,720 | -49% |
|
Transient Ischemia without Thrombolytic
MS-DRG 069 · Inpatient stay |
$21,224 | $5,175 | -49% |
|
Heart Attack (uncomplicated)
MS-DRG 282 · Inpatient stay |
$19,869 | $6,736 | -48% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$13,132 | $2,844 | -48% |
|
Circulatory Disorders Except Heart Attack, with Cardiac Catheterization with Major
MS-DRG 286 · Inpatient stay |
$46,811 | $14,742 | -47% |
|
Heart Attack (with complications)
MS-DRG 281 · Inpatient stay |
$24,812 | $6,432 | -43% |
|
Fainting
MS-DRG 312 · Inpatient stay |
$20,878 | $6,372 | -43% |
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.