CostGrade
C

55/100

#1,118 nationally

The Medical Center (Bowling Green)

250 Park Street, Bowling Green, KY 42101 · (270) 745-1000

Charges well above the national norm

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, The Medical Center (Bowling Green) billed $4.57 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
4.6x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
111
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in KY
#22
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.

Inpatient charge markup 15.4/35

Better than 44% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 14.4/25

Better than 58% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 18.5/30

Better than 62% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 6.3/10

Better than 63% 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 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

305 $15,695 $2,757 -38%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

283 $62,519 $15,200 -4%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

264 $15,241 $2,351 -22%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

179 $7,848 $1,382 -22%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

152 $36,835 $10,027 -15%
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services

APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit

139 $28,704 $4,871 -18%
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit

138 $45,880 $9,407 -32%
Level 2 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5192 · Hospital outpatient visit

101 $25,373 $4,860 -27%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

97 $73,721 $11,257 +18%
Respiratory Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay

93 $58,282 $14,163 +6%

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
Cranial and Peripheral Nerve Disorders without Major Complications

MS-DRG 074 · Inpatient stay

$68,932 $8,429 +45%
Level 1 Nerve Procedures

APC 5431 · Hospital outpatient visit

$16,092 $1,598 +42%
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit

$53,812 $5,802 +35%
Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5112 · Hospital outpatient visit

$14,189 $1,389 +26%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

$22,071 $2,455 +25%
Cochlear Implant Procedure

APC 5166 · Hospital outpatient visit

$151,998 $28,888 +25%
Level 1 Abdominal/peritoneal/biliary and Related Procedures

APC 5341 · Hospital outpatient visit

$27,889 $2,945 +20%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

$73,721 $11,257 +18%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 2 Vascular Procedures

APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit

$2,984 $1,384 -65%
Level 5 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5155 · Hospital outpatient visit

$20,509 $5,824 -47%
Cirrhosis and Alcoholic Hepatitis with Major Complications

MS-DRG 432 · Inpatient stay

$44,083 $15,003 -45%
Seizures without Major Complications

MS-DRG 101 · Inpatient stay

$23,007 $7,376 -44%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

$6,691 $1,644 -43%
Red Blood Cell Disorders without Major Complications

MS-DRG 812 · Inpatient stay

$21,240 $7,325 -43%
Level 4 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5224 · Hospital outpatient visit

$54,646 $16,799 -43%
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit

$30,180 $8,940 -41%

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.