45/100
#1,436 nationally
Musc Medical Center
169 Ashley Ave, Charleston, SC 29425 · (843) 792-2300
Charges well above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Musc Medical Center billed $4.32 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
- 4.3x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 284
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in SC
- #23
- 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.
Better than 61% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 31% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 41% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 36% 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 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
949 | $22,079 | $1,020 | +88% |
|
Level 2 Urology and Related Services
APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit |
851 | $2,707 | $578 | -14% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
715 | $15,148 | $2,311 | -22% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
702 | $9,352 | $1,354 | -7% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
670 | $16,260 | $1,603 | +38% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
573 | $10,939 | $1,658 | -15% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
544 | $21,275 | $2,768 | -16% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
524 | $18,709 | $2,503 | about average |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
497 | $70,072 | $24,550 | +7% |
|
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit |
445 | $24,899 | $2,340 | +41% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Coagulation Disorders
MS-DRG 813 · Inpatient stay |
$173,767 | $64,206 | +159% |
|
Level 1 Nerve Procedures
APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$25,188 | $1,316 | +122% |
|
Hernia Procedures Except Inguinal and Femoral with Complications
MS-DRG 354 · Inpatient stay |
$172,441 | $26,623 | +104% |
|
Other Cerebrovascular Disorders with Major Complications
MS-DRG 070 · Inpatient stay |
$133,307 | $35,319 | +101% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$22,079 | $1,020 | +88% |
|
Hernia Procedures Except Inguinal and Femoral without Complications/mcc
MS-DRG 355 · Inpatient stay |
$124,358 | $16,597 | +88% |
|
Peritoneal Adhesiolysis with Complications
MS-DRG 336 · Inpatient stay |
$175,567 | $37,198 | +77% |
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
$61,643 | $26,263 | +71% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ischemic Stroke, Precerebral Occlusion or Transient Ischemia with Thrombolytic Agent Wit
MS-DRG 062 · Inpatient stay |
$47,643 | $19,851 | -49% |
|
Major Gastrointestinal Disorders and Peritoneal Infections with Major Complications
MS-DRG 371 · Inpatient stay |
$35,599 | $19,937 | -48% |
|
Digestive Malignancy with Complications
MS-DRG 375 · Inpatient stay |
$29,062 | $15,288 | -45% |
|
Amputation for Circulatory System Disorders Except Upper Limb and Toe with Major
MS-DRG 239 · Inpatient stay |
$113,934 | $45,360 | -42% |
|
Intracranial Vascular Procedures with Principal Diagnosis Hemorrhage with Major
MS-DRG 020 · Inpatient stay |
$208,983 | $85,479 | -40% |
|
Hypertension with Major Complications
MS-DRG 304 · Inpatient stay |
$30,408 | $13,223 | -39% |
|
Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis or with High Dose Chemotherapy a
MS-DRG 837 · Inpatient stay |
$116,572 | $57,851 | -37% |
|
Other Factors Influencing Health Status
MS-DRG 951 · Inpatient stay |
$13,893 | $7,180 | -37% |
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.