CostGrade
C

40/100

#1,604 nationally

Uc San Diego Health Hillcrest - Hillcrest Med Ctr

200 West Arbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92103 · (619) 543-6222

Charges well above the national norm

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Uc San Diego Health Hillcrest - Hillcrest Med Ctr billed $4.29 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
4.3x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
243
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in CA
#68
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.

Inpatient charge markup 17.1/35

Better than 49% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 16.0/25

Better than 64% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 5.2/30

Better than 17% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 1.6/10

Better than 16% 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 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,381 $2,443 $839 -22%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,235 $13,241 $2,860 +13%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

821 $9,150 $2,448 -29%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

693 $9,299 $1,976 -8%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

674 $13,791 $2,336 +17%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

585 $143,869 $35,921 +120%
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures

APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit

534 $78,549 $16,094 +26%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

534 $27,875 $3,354 +43%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

440 $20,461 $3,465 +16%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

404 $15,815 $4,008 -37%

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
Organic Disturbances and Intellectual Disability

MS-DRG 884 · Inpatient stay

$168,624 $44,435 +238%
Pathological Fractures and Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Malignancy with

MS-DRG 543 · Inpatient stay

$123,954 $25,609 +199%
Postoperative or Post-traumatic Infections with Operating Room Procedures with Major

MS-DRG 856 · Inpatient stay

$541,194 $134,133 +185%
COPD (severe)

MS-DRG 190 · Inpatient stay

$117,735 $21,578 +181%
Respiratory Infection (with complications)

MS-DRG 178 · Inpatient stay

$103,536 $24,000 +178%
Red Blood Cell Disorders with Major Complications

MS-DRG 811 · Inpatient stay

$155,581 $37,435 +176%
Kidney and Ureter Procedures for Non-neoplasm with Major Complications

MS-DRG 659 · Inpatient stay

$267,108 $55,838 +172%
Nervous System Neoplasms with Major Complications

MS-DRG 054 · Inpatient stay

$174,126 $32,385 +164%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

$15,815 $4,008 -37%
Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures without Major Complications

MS-DRG 274 · Inpatient stay

$80,840 $42,373 -35%
Level 3 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5193 · Hospital outpatient visit

$47,607 $13,477 -30%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

$9,150 $2,448 -29%
Level 2 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures

APC 5222 · Hospital outpatient visit

$28,099 $10,435 -26%
Level 4 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5194 · Hospital outpatient visit

$71,230 $20,945 -25%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

$14,650 $3,914 -23%
Level 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

$2,443 $839 -22%

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.