14/100
#2,318 nationally
St Lukes Hospital
801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015 · (484) 526-4000
Among the highest charge markups in the country
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, St Lukes Hospital billed $8.20 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
- 8.2x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 222
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in PA
- #109
- lower markup ranks higher
- CMS quality stars
- 5/5
- 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 11% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 20% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 12% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 19% 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 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
470 | $18,570 | $1,843 | +58% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
457 | $137,361 | $18,878 | +111% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
441 | $15,697 | $1,570 | +56% |
|
Level 1 Nerve Procedures
APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit |
401 | $14,378 | $1,857 | +27% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
372 | $90,665 | $12,473 | +45% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
370 | $28,351 | $1,976 | +119% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
363 | $32,554 | $2,599 | +68% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
360 | $102,984 | $12,914 | +137% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
269 | $39,672 | $3,141 | +57% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
261 | $55,966 | $4,970 | +104% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
$200,947 | $15,834 | +457% |
|
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability
MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay |
$167,081 | $17,081 | +234% |
|
Nervous System Neoplasms with Major Complications
MS-DRG 054 · Inpatient stay |
$195,649 | $17,905 | +196% |
|
Stroke (severe)
MS-DRG 064 · Inpatient stay |
$211,199 | $19,878 | +177% |
|
Degenerative Nervous System Disorders with Major Complications
MS-DRG 056 · Inpatient stay |
$237,916 | $26,182 | +176% |
|
Level 4 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures
APC 5464 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$214,185 | $21,282 | +165% |
|
Level 4 ENT Procedures
APC 5164 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$49,581 | $3,048 | +162% |
|
Seizures without Major Complications
MS-DRG 101 · Inpatient stay |
$106,548 | $9,582 | +161% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Circulatory System Operating Room Procedures
MS-DRG 264 · Inpatient stay |
$130,775 | $28,863 | -4% |
|
Cardiac Congenital and Valvular Disorders with Major Complications
MS-DRG 306 · Inpatient stay |
$86,754 | $18,176 | about average |
|
Level 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$8,748 | $1,435 | about average |
|
Other Respiratory System Diagnoses with Major Complications
MS-DRG 205 · Inpatient stay |
$80,881 | $16,379 | +6% |
|
Coagulation Disorders
MS-DRG 813 · Inpatient stay |
$74,967 | $14,900 | +12% |
|
Lymphoma and Non-acute Leukemia with Major Complications
MS-DRG 840 · Inpatient stay |
$160,540 | $30,480 | +12% |
|
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$12,785 | $1,543 | +14% |
|
Peripheral Vascular Disorders with Major Complications
MS-DRG 299 · Inpatient stay |
$79,617 | $14,746 | +18% |
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.