CostGrade
B

76/100

#471 nationally

Sanford Medical Center Fargo

801 Broadway North, Fargo, ND 58122 · (701) 234-2000

Charges moderately above what care is paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Sanford Medical Center Fargo billed $3.34 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
3.3x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
236
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in ND
#5
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 23.9/35

Better than 68% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 21.5/25

Better than 86% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 23.6/30

Better than 79% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 7.1/10

Better than 71% 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 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

828 $990 $640 -68%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

756 $13,283 $2,561 -32%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

641 $5,755 $1,520 -43%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

618 $35,621 $12,304 -43%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

567 $9,395 $1,780 -20%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

511 $5,538 $1,907 -57%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

450 $7,596 $2,179 -35%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

380 $23,873 $3,060 -5%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

373 $48,040 $16,626 -26%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

327 $8,904 $1,810 -22%

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
Disorders of Personality and Impulse Control

MS-DRG 883 · Inpatient stay

$112,995 $25,541 +148%
Level 4 Vascular Procedures

APC 5184 · Hospital outpatient visit

$41,636 $5,152 +15%
Spinal Fusion Except Cervical without Major Complications

MS-DRG 460 · Inpatient stay

$147,952 $34,383 about average
Skin Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 602 · Inpatient stay

$52,396 $15,949 about average
Signs and Symptoms without Major Complications

MS-DRG 948 · Inpatient stay

$32,517 $7,833 about average
Traumatic Stupor and Coma <1 Hour with Complications

MS-DRG 086 · Inpatient stay

$55,347 $15,579 about average
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

$23,873 $3,060 -5%
Stroke (uncomplicated)

MS-DRG 066 · Inpatient stay

$33,504 $5,954 -7%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 3 ENT Procedures

APC 5163 · Hospital outpatient visit

$1,808 $1,430 -72%
Level 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

$990 $640 -68%
Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant with Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 016 · Inpatient stay

$77,664 $52,109 -68%
Postoperative or Post-traumatic Infections with Operating Room Procedures with

MS-DRG 857 · Inpatient stay

$37,175 $16,685 -62%
Pneumothorax with Major Complications

MS-DRG 199 · Inpatient stay

$31,895 $14,515 -60%
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit

$4,574 $1,591 -60%
Digestive Malignancy with Major Complications

MS-DRG 374 · Inpatient stay

$34,671 $14,172 -60%
Respiratory System Diagnosis with Ventilator Support >96 Hours

MS-DRG 207 · Inpatient stay

$104,452 $45,195 -59%

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.