21/100
#2,160 nationally
St Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA 98405 · (253) 627-4101
Charges far above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, St Joseph Medical Center billed $6.68 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
- 6.7x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 139
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in WA
- #43
- 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.
Better than 19% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 27% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 18% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 25% 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 |
286 | $116,836 | $19,473 | +79% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
193 | $35,690 | $3,313 | +41% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
156 | $31,510 | $2,749 | +62% |
|
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures
APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit |
138 | $159,016 | $24,238 | +20% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
127 | $16,338 | $1,925 | +39% |
|
Heart Attack (severe)
MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay |
125 | $98,432 | $14,928 | +60% |
|
Level 2 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5362 · Hospital outpatient visit |
115 | $114,185 | $10,316 | +91% |
|
Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures without Major Complications
MS-DRG 274 · Inpatient stay |
107 | $189,425 | $28,251 | +52% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
104 | $72,754 | $13,021 | +68% |
|
Level 3 Vascular Procedures
APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit |
103 | $27,578 | $3,228 | +44% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Urinary Tract Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 689 · Inpatient stay |
$132,145 | $19,602 | +224% |
|
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures
APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$60,051 | $3,565 | +158% |
|
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability
MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay |
$124,232 | $19,139 | +149% |
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
$87,798 | $13,602 | +143% |
|
Level 2 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures
APC 5092 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$95,811 | $6,719 | +143% |
|
Level 1 Breast/lymphatic Surgery and Related Procedures
APC 5091 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$56,930 | $3,927 | +139% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (without major complications)
MS-DRG 690 · Inpatient stay |
$67,042 | $8,044 | +125% |
|
Back Problems (severe)
MS-DRG 551 · Inpatient stay |
$152,361 | $20,444 | +119% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cirrhosis and Alcoholic Hepatitis with Major Complications
MS-DRG 432 · Inpatient stay |
$72,593 | $19,368 | -9% |
|
Poisoning and Toxic Effects of Drugs with Major Complications
MS-DRG 917 · Inpatient stay |
$64,231 | $13,022 | -5% |
|
Heart Catheter Procedure (severe)
MS-DRG 321 · Inpatient stay |
$139,028 | $26,257 | -3% |
|
Level 4 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5224 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$93,121 | $20,027 | about average |
|
Level 3 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5303 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$21,378 | $3,946 | about average |
|
Digestive Malignancy with Major Complications
MS-DRG 374 · Inpatient stay |
$86,493 | $19,567 | about average |
|
Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy with Intraluminal Device with Major Complications
MS-DRG 323 · Inpatient stay |
$216,475 | $33,039 | about average |
|
Heart Catheter Procedure (without major complications)
MS-DRG 322 · Inpatient stay |
$104,377 | $16,762 | about average |
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.