38/100
#1,655 nationally
Peacehealth St Joseph Medical Center
2901 Squalicum Parkway, Bellingham, WA 98225 · (360) 734-5400
Charges well above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Peacehealth St Joseph Medical Center billed $5.14 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
- 5.1x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 140
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in WA
- #32
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 4/5
- 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 33% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 53% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 32% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 41% 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 |
540 | $26,577 | $2,934 | +37% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
313 | $71,068 | $13,913 | +14% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
245 | $97,532 | $20,146 | +49% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
217 | $18,470 | $3,508 | -27% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
208 | $63,523 | $13,590 | +46% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
172 | $13,089 | $1,743 | +30% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
161 | $56,500 | $6,110 | +61% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
160 | $37,128 | $7,652 | -7% |
|
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures
APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit |
158 | $133,377 | $25,458 | about average |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
140 | $65,463 | $12,887 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Degenerative Nervous System Disorders without Major Complications
MS-DRG 057 · Inpatient stay |
$117,457 | $14,076 | +145% |
|
Diabetes (with complications)
MS-DRG 638 · Inpatient stay |
$69,582 | $12,437 | +101% |
|
Level 2 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5362 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$110,890 | $11,052 | +86% |
|
Irregular Heartbeat (uncomplicated)
MS-DRG 310 · Inpatient stay |
$43,888 | $5,128 | +74% |
|
Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence without Rehabilitation Therapy without Major
MS-DRG 897 · Inpatient stay |
$56,148 | $19,027 | +73% |
|
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy without C.d.e. without Complications/mcc
MS-DRG 419 · Inpatient stay |
$120,132 | $16,812 | +72% |
|
Coronary Bypass with Cardiac Catheterization or Open Ablation without Major Complications
MS-DRG 234 · Inpatient stay |
$369,913 | $48,889 | +68% |
|
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy without C.d.e. with Major Complications
MS-DRG 417 · Inpatient stay |
$176,135 | $22,970 | +68% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 3 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5303 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$12,534 | $4,117 | -43% |
|
Level 5 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5155 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$22,762 | $7,357 | -41% |
|
Complex GI Procedures
APC 5331 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$18,765 | $6,126 | -37% |
|
Malignancy of Hepatobiliary System or Pancreas with Major Complications
MS-DRG 435 · Inpatient stay |
$51,201 | $16,409 | -37% |
|
Level 4 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5154 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$16,511 | $4,025 | -27% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$18,470 | $3,508 | -27% |
|
Level 3 Lower GI Procedures
APC 5313 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$12,147 | $3,018 | -27% |
|
Coagulation Disorders
MS-DRG 813 · Inpatient stay |
$51,292 | $14,394 | -23% |
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.