CostGrade
B

76/100

#474 nationally

University Health System, Inc

1924 Alcoa Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920 · (865) 305-9000

Charges moderately above what care is paid for

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, University Health System, Inc billed $3.31 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
3.3x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
217
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in TN
#11
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 25.5/35

Better than 73% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 18.6/25

Better than 75% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 23.9/30

Better than 80% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 7.9/10

Better than 79% 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

707 $12,561 $2,167 -35%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

530 $47,352 $18,663 -27%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

478 $7,144 $1,318 -29%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

355 $12,310 $2,596 -36%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

337 $13,655 $2,640 -46%
Level 4 Urology and Related Services

APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit

307 $10,733 $2,854 -48%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

257 $9,066 $2,257 -49%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

253 $8,147 $1,655 -37%
Heart Failure (severe)

MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay

235 $30,030 $13,430 -31%
Level 5 Urology and Related Services

APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit

230 $13,940 $4,182 -49%

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 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

$5,867 $563 +87%
Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures without Major

MS-DRG 267 · Inpatient stay

$204,875 $37,752 +8%
Level 5 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5465 · Hospital outpatient visit

$120,204 $24,630 +7%
Kidney or Urinary Disorder (with complications)

MS-DRG 699 · Inpatient stay

$39,991 $11,147 +6%
Level 2 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5462 · Hospital outpatient visit

$27,548 $5,525 +5%
Level 4 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5464 · Hospital outpatient visit

$83,874 $17,705 +4%
Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 266 · Inpatient stay

$248,268 $51,135 +3%
Revision of Hip or Knee Replacement without Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 468 · Inpatient stay

$108,288 $22,854 about average

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Lymphoma and Non-acute Leukemia with Major Complications

MS-DRG 840 · Inpatient stay

$42,254 $26,328 -70%
ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except

MS-DRG 003 · Inpatient stay

$311,301 $121,726 -65%
Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis or with High Dose Chemotherapy a

MS-DRG 837 · Inpatient stay

$67,931 $42,297 -64%
Pleural Effusion with Major Complications

MS-DRG 186 · Inpatient stay

$28,043 $14,357 -61%
Irregular Heartbeat (with complications)

MS-DRG 309 · Inpatient stay

$13,018 $7,748 -57%
Kidney and Ureter Procedures for Neoplasm with Complications

MS-DRG 657 · Inpatient stay

$40,319 $15,522 -55%
Peripheral Vascular Disorders with Major Complications

MS-DRG 299 · Inpatient stay

$30,288 $15,785 -55%
Other Circulatory System Diagnoses with Complications

MS-DRG 315 · Inpatient stay

$19,006 $9,538 -54%

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.