CostGrade
D

32/100

#1,823 nationally

Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center

1199 Prince Avenue, Athens, GA 30606 · (706) 475-7000

Charges far above the national norm

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center billed $5.58 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
5.6x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
160
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in GA
#41
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.

Inpatient charge markup 12.2/35

Better than 35% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 6.0/25

Better than 24% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 10.6/30

Better than 35% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 3.0/10

Better than 30% 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
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

690 $72,256 $16,877 +11%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

582 $21,993 $2,376 +13%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

378 $48,261 $11,529 +11%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

285 $14,806 $1,406 +47%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

266 $27,765 $2,889 +10%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

162 $15,242 $1,644 +30%
Sepsis (without major complications)

MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay

152 $41,398 $9,505 +6%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

151 $22,302 $2,789 +17%
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit

145 $48,313 $4,904 +38%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

136 $30,919 $2,022 +163%

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 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

$30,919 $2,022 +163%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

$26,937 $1,701 +137%
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit

$43,810 $3,575 +112%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

$27,185 $1,751 +110%
Level 3 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5493 · Hospital outpatient visit

$49,891 $4,161 +106%
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit

$22,875 $1,468 +101%
Level 3 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures

APC 5093 · Hospital outpatient visit

$123,030 $8,526 +83%
Level 4 Gynecologic Procedures

APC 5414 · Hospital outpatient visit

$32,703 $2,733 +80%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Seizures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 100 · Inpatient stay

$50,689 $17,241 -37%
Other Circulatory System Diagnoses with Major Complications

MS-DRG 314 · Inpatient stay

$50,293 $17,629 -36%
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Major Complications

MS-DRG 091 · Inpatient stay

$46,196 $14,615 -35%
Traumatic Stupor and Coma <1 Hour with Major Complications

MS-DRG 085 · Inpatient stay

$69,457 $15,340 -29%
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Complications

MS-DRG 092 · Inpatient stay

$33,470 $10,014 -26%
Other Cerebrovascular Disorders with Complications

MS-DRG 071 · Inpatient stay

$34,108 $9,196 -23%
Transient Ischemia without Thrombolytic

MS-DRG 069 · Inpatient stay

$32,796 $7,637 -21%
Nervous System Neoplasms with Major Complications

MS-DRG 054 · Inpatient stay

$52,906 $12,643 -20%

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.