CostGrade
B

68/100

#711 nationally

Southwest Medical Center

315 West 15Th Street, Liberal, KS 67901 · (620) 624-1651

Charges moderately above what care is paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Southwest Medical Center billed $3.43 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
3.4x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
19
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in KS
#17
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
1/5
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 26.2/35

Better than 75% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 13.3/25

Better than 53% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 19.4/30

Better than 65% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 8.8/10

Better than 88% 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

81 $19,055 $2,503 about average
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

65 $9,033 $1,464 -10%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

60 $43,788 $19,445 -33%
Hip or Knee Replacement (without major complications)

MS-DRG 470 · Inpatient stay

34 $66,237 $18,938 -17%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

31 $10,883 $2,598 -38%
Pneumonia (severe)

MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay

29 $44,001 $12,971 -6%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

29 $29,441 $6,362 -26%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

26 $30,317 $12,620 -30%
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit

26 $32,655 $4,953 -7%
Respiratory Failure

MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay

21 $53,295 $12,071 +10%

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
Respiratory Failure

MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay

$53,295 $12,071 +10%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

$19,055 $2,503 about average
Pneumonia (severe)

MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay

$44,001 $12,971 -6%
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit

$32,655 $4,953 -7%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

$10,234 $1,765 -10%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

$9,033 $1,464 -10%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

$17,096 $2,914 -11%
Hip or Knee Replacement (without major complications)

MS-DRG 470 · Inpatient stay

$66,237 $18,938 -17%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

$10,883 $2,598 -38%
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit

$13,008 $2,812 -36%
Sepsis (without major complications)

MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay

$25,050 $10,760 -36%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

$43,788 $19,445 -33%
Kidney Failure (with complications)

MS-DRG 683 · Inpatient stay

$22,509 $9,335 -32%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

$30,317 $12,620 -30%
Major Joint or Limb Reattachment Procedures of Upper Extremities

MS-DRG 483 · Inpatient stay

$72,914 $24,622 -29%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

$29,441 $6,362 -26%

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.