CostGrade
F

10/100

#2,402 nationally

Princeton Baptist Medical Center

701 Princeton Avenue Southwest, Birmingham, AL 35211 · (205) 783-3800

Among the highest charge markups in the country

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Princeton Baptist Medical Center billed $9.28 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
9.3x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
56
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in AL
#37
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.

Inpatient charge markup 3.4/35

Better than 10% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 1.2/25

Better than 5% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 2.9/30

Better than 10% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 2.2/10

Better than 22% 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 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

190 $50,825 $2,560 +101%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

141 $144,297 $16,938 +121%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

104 $74,426 $12,333 +71%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

58 $31,736 $2,397 +66%
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)

MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay

47 $316,441 $34,443 +78%
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit

46 $130,173 $8,360 +92%
Sepsis

MS-DRG 870 · Inpatient stay

41 $440,756 $51,994 +64%
Heart Attack (severe)

MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay

40 $101,349 $15,175 +65%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

39 $38,159 $2,061 +96%
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures

APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit

31 $223,530 $18,608 +69%

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 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

$38,862 $1,491 +201%
Complex GI Procedures

APC 5331 · Hospital outpatient visit

$87,178 $4,413 +191%
Digestive Disorder (without major complications)

MS-DRG 392 · Inpatient stay

$92,369 $9,909 +186%
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures

APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit

$59,602 $2,347 +156%
Level 2 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5362 · Hospital outpatient visit

$150,519 $7,494 +152%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

$150,337 $9,974 +141%
Fainting

MS-DRG 312 · Inpatient stay

$87,359 $9,275 +139%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

$93,350 $5,675 +134%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability

MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay

$47,418 $11,214 -5%
Respiratory Failure

MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay

$64,608 $12,906 +33%
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit

$69,095 $8,304 +34%
Level 5 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5155 · Hospital outpatient visit

$53,878 $5,713 +40%
Red Blood Cell Disorders without Major Complications

MS-DRG 812 · Inpatient stay

$53,112 $8,101 +43%
Kidney Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 682 · Inpatient stay

$77,290 $12,926 +46%
Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 266 · Inpatient stay

$355,531 $36,475 +48%
Irregular Heartbeat (with complications)

MS-DRG 309 · Inpatient stay

$47,146 $9,122 +54%

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.