13/100
#2,331 nationally
St Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus
500 St Luke's Drive, Lehighton, PA 18235 · (610) 377-7001
Among the highest charge markups in the country
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, St Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus billed $8.86 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
- 8.9x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 50
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in PA
- #110
- 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 9% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 13% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 14% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 23% 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 |
183 | $33,349 | $2,495 | +72% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
170 | $127,114 | $15,240 | +95% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
103 | $73,692 | $9,621 | +70% |
|
Kidney Failure (with complications)
MS-DRG 683 · Inpatient stay |
44 | $61,732 | $7,010 | +87% |
|
Respiratory Failure
MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay |
39 | $72,705 | $10,796 | +50% |
|
Digestive Disorder (without major complications)
MS-DRG 392 · Inpatient stay |
39 | $63,027 | $7,168 | +95% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
39 | $62,032 | $5,044 | +77% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
38 | $23,945 | $1,856 | +85% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
37 | $23,486 | $1,478 | +133% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
32 | $114,501 | $12,386 | +108% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pulmonary Embolism with Major Complications or Acute Cor Pulmonale
MS-DRG 175 · Inpatient stay |
$159,054 | $12,437 | +192% |
|
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$50,904 | $2,481 | +188% |
|
Fluid and Electrolyte Disorder (severe)
MS-DRG 640 · Inpatient stay |
$116,714 | $11,256 | +141% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$65,967 | $4,716 | +140% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$23,486 | $1,478 | +133% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$27,010 | $2,124 | +130% |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$47,255 | $3,177 | +129% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
$114,501 | $12,386 | +108% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Digestive System Diagnoses with Major Complications
MS-DRG 393 · Inpatient stay |
$70,227 | $12,338 | +9% |
|
Level 2 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5192 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$39,302 | $5,209 | +14% |
|
Level 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$10,169 | $1,409 | +19% |
|
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$62,521 | $9,725 | +21% |
|
Infection Needing Surgery (severe)
MS-DRG 853 · Inpatient stay |
$221,889 | $29,635 | +25% |
|
Level 2 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5222 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$49,063 | $7,743 | +30% |
|
Gastrointestinal Bleeding (severe)
MS-DRG 377 · Inpatient stay |
$97,455 | $13,941 | +37% |
|
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$93,678 | $9,459 | +38% |
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.