8/100
#2,447 nationally
Palomar Health Downtown Campus
555 East Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025 · (760) 739-3000
Among the highest charge markups in the country
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Palomar Health Downtown Campus billed $10.38 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
- 10.4x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 104
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in CA
- #210
- 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 5% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 11% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 8% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 12% 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 |
527 | $51,028 | $2,709 | +163% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
342 | $176,671 | $17,030 | +171% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
222 | $88,607 | $9,770 | +42% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
153 | $105,283 | $10,128 | +143% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
122 | $126,156 | $11,223 | +171% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
121 | $145,166 | $13,288 | +164% |
|
Sepsis (without major complications)
MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay |
90 | $100,072 | $9,428 | +155% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 689 · Inpatient stay |
80 | $98,168 | $8,849 | +141% |
|
Kidney or Urinary Disorder (severe)
MS-DRG 698 · Inpatient stay |
78 | $128,082 | $12,817 | +125% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay |
75 | $76,721 | $6,665 | +158% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Traumatic Stupor and Coma <1 Hour with Complications
MS-DRG 086 · Inpatient stay |
$216,593 | $11,297 | +283% |
|
Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence without Rehabilitation Therapy without Major
MS-DRG 897 · Inpatient stay |
$113,234 | $9,133 | +248% |
|
Back Problems (without major complications)
MS-DRG 552 · Inpatient stay |
$134,214 | $8,182 | +244% |
|
Back Problems (severe)
MS-DRG 551 · Inpatient stay |
$216,521 | $17,977 | +212% |
|
Fracture, Sprain, Strain and Dislocation Except Femur, Hip, Pelvis and Thigh without
MS-DRG 563 · Inpatient stay |
$112,914 | $8,234 | +207% |
|
Bronchitis and Asthma with Complications/mcc
MS-DRG 202 · Inpatient stay |
$118,144 | $7,970 | +200% |
|
Kidney or Urinary Disorder (with complications)
MS-DRG 699 · Inpatient stay |
$108,764 | $7,961 | +188% |
|
Respiratory Failure
MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay |
$137,774 | $9,176 | +185% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$12,136 | $1,906 | +3% |
|
Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion without Complications/mcc
MS-DRG 455 · Inpatient stay |
$186,199 | $25,204 | +5% |
|
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$18,875 | $2,196 | +7% |
|
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$57,924 | $8,742 | +12% |
|
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$86,381 | $8,917 | +28% |
|
Heart Catheter Procedure (without major complications)
MS-DRG 322 · Inpatient stay |
$133,097 | $15,153 | +31% |
|
Level 4 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5194 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$125,491 | $13,321 | +31% |
|
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$15,293 | $1,133 | +34% |
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.