26/100
#1,997 nationally
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital
1000 N Westmoreland Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045 · (847) 234-5600
Charges far above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital billed $6.60 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
- 6.6x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 141
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in IL
- #91
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 5/5
- 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 26% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 20% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 27% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 38% 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 |
1,126 | $29,323 | $2,563 | +51% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
458 | $19,899 | $2,199 | +69% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
456 | $14,998 | $1,325 | +49% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
335 | $96,389 | $18,443 | +48% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
217 | $22,724 | $1,782 | +93% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
199 | $33,926 | $3,080 | +34% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
176 | $112,837 | $12,402 | +81% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
167 | $22,425 | $3,290 | +9% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
165 | $15,388 | $1,808 | +19% |
|
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures
APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit |
151 | $21,862 | $3,213 | -6% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Interstitial Lung Disease with Major Complications
MS-DRG 196 · Inpatient stay |
$180,411 | $25,838 | +125% |
|
Level 2 Urology and Related Services
APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$6,477 | $571 | +107% |
|
Level 2 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5362 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$117,529 | $9,707 | +97% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$22,724 | $1,782 | +93% |
|
Level 5 ENT Procedures
APC 5165 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$65,039 | $5,526 | +89% |
|
Hip or Thigh Bone Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 480 · Inpatient stay |
$218,248 | $28,332 | +86% |
|
Complex GI Procedures
APC 5331 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$55,531 | $5,378 | +85% |
|
Level 5 Gynecologic Procedures
APC 5415 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$55,575 | $4,694 | +85% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gastrointestinal Obstruction with Major Complications
MS-DRG 388 · Inpatient stay |
$38,283 | $12,450 | -33% |
|
Endocrine Disorders with Major Complications
MS-DRG 643 · Inpatient stay |
$48,154 | $13,302 | -27% |
|
Seizures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 100 · Inpatient stay |
$61,518 | $14,572 | -24% |
|
Pathological Fractures and Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Malignancy with Major
MS-DRG 542 · Inpatient stay |
$55,560 | $14,421 | -19% |
|
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability
MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay |
$40,770 | $12,832 | -18% |
|
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Major Complications
MS-DRG 091 · Inpatient stay |
$58,522 | $14,500 | -18% |
|
Level 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$7,134 | $1,511 | -17% |
|
Cranial and Peripheral Nerve Disorders without Major Complications
MS-DRG 074 · Inpatient stay |
$40,669 | $9,635 | -15% |
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.