3/100
#2,578 nationally
Sierra Medical Center
1625 Medical Center Dr, El Paso, TX 79902 · (915) 747-4000
Among the highest charge markups in the country
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Sierra Medical Center billed $15.91 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
- 15.9x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 57
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in TX
- #202
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 2/5
- 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 0% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 4% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 3% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 13% 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 |
101 | $230,145 | $13,595 | +253% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
67 | $174,371 | $10,676 | +179% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
57 | $17,515 | $1,370 | +74% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
49 | $54,547 | $4,206 | +99% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
48 | $76,763 | $4,758 | +119% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
47 | $113,175 | $8,913 | +161% |
|
Level 5 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures
APC 5465 · Hospital outpatient visit |
47 | $375,762 | $25,793 | +233% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
41 | $142,858 | $9,510 | +207% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
41 | $67,885 | $2,832 | +169% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
41 | $47,395 | $2,849 | +130% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kidney or Urinary Disorder (severe)
MS-DRG 698 · Inpatient stay |
$247,537 | $11,477 | +336% |
|
Level 1 Nerve Procedures
APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$44,757 | $1,594 | +294% |
|
Level 2 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures
APC 5092 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$150,498 | $5,658 | +281% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay |
$109,519 | $6,175 | +268% |
|
Gastrointestinal Bleeding (severe)
MS-DRG 377 · Inpatient stay |
$258,208 | $13,297 | +263% |
|
Digestive Disorder (severe)
MS-DRG 391 · Inpatient stay |
$183,063 | $9,580 | +257% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
$230,145 | $13,595 | +253% |
|
Fluid and Electrolyte Disorder (without major complications)
MS-DRG 641 · Inpatient stay |
$105,286 | $5,852 | +245% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$17,515 | $1,370 | +74% |
|
Gastrointestinal Obstruction with Complications
MS-DRG 389 · Inpatient stay |
$59,382 | $5,923 | +90% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$54,547 | $4,206 | +99% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$23,469 | $1,651 | +100% |
|
Sepsis
MS-DRG 870 · Inpatient stay |
$559,790 | $42,550 | +108% |
|
Irregular Heartbeat (severe)
MS-DRG 308 · Inpatient stay |
$100,020 | $8,566 | +111% |
|
Irregular Heartbeat (with complications)
MS-DRG 309 · Inpatient stay |
$66,280 | $5,613 | +117% |
|
Respiratory Failure
MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay |
$105,518 | $9,774 | +118% |
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.