CostGrade
F

4/100

#2,553 nationally

The Medical Center Of Aurora & South Hospital

1501 S Potomac St, Aurora, CO 80012 · (303) 873-5511

Among the highest charge markups in the country

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, The Medical Center Of Aurora & South Hospital billed $12.93 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
12.9x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
78
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in CO
#40
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
4/5
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 1.1/35

Better than 3% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 1.2/25

Better than 5% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 0.9/30

Better than 3% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 0.9/10

Better than 9% 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

274 $193,549 $16,748 +197%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

218 $64,727 $2,606 +233%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

215 $208,146 $12,359 +233%
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures

APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit

127 $190,786 $22,550 +44%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

110 $73,288 $3,107 +190%
Psychoses

MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay

94 $90,271 $12,487 +150%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

86 $108,806 $11,311 +151%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

67 $29,822 $1,507 +196%
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit

65 $137,943 $10,157 +168%
Respiratory Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay

60 $114,128 $13,620 +107%

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
Level 5 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5155 · Hospital outpatient visit

$167,371 $6,403 +335%
Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5113 · Hospital outpatient visit

$86,740 $3,082 +326%
Level 2 Vascular Procedures

APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit

$36,377 $1,525 +324%
Level 4 Vascular Procedures

APC 5184 · Hospital outpatient visit

$142,572 $5,231 +295%
Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures without Major Complications

MS-DRG 274 · Inpatient stay

$488,388 $25,574 +292%
Circulatory Disorders Except Heart Attack, with Cardiac Catheterization with Major

MS-DRG 286 · Inpatient stay

$335,807 $22,047 +282%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

$68,778 $3,034 +260%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

$62,920 $2,705 +256%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Alcohol, Drug Abuse or Dependence with Rehabilitation Therapy

MS-DRG 895 · Inpatient stay

$45,302 $12,750 +29%
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures

APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit

$190,786 $22,550 +44%
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability

MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay

$80,802 $12,780 +62%
Cranial and Peripheral Nerve Disorders without Major Complications

MS-DRG 074 · Inpatient stay

$81,058 $8,154 +70%
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Major Complications

MS-DRG 091 · Inpatient stay

$137,271 $14,398 +93%
Heart Attack (severe)

MS-DRG 280 · Inpatient stay

$124,544 $13,421 +103%
Diabetes with Major Complications

MS-DRG 637 · Inpatient stay

$115,538 $12,409 +105%
Permanent Cardiac Pacemaker Implant with Complications

MS-DRG 243 · Inpatient stay

$193,456 $18,774 +107%

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.