CostGrade
D

33/100

#1,803 nationally

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

1211 Medical Center Drive, Nashville, TN 37232 · (615) 322-3454

Charges far above the national norm

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Vanderbilt University Medical Center billed $5.07 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
5.1x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
319
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in TN
#38
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 13.8/35

Better than 40% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 7.5/25

Better than 30% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 8.7/30

Better than 29% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 3.4/10

Better than 34% 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

1,907 $8,675 $532 +177%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

813 $17,506 $1,258 +35%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

763 $12,474 $1,084 +24%
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

704 $12,917 $1,548 +10%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

673 $24,552 $2,245 +26%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

570 $15,543 $2,304 -12%
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures

APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit

569 $27,623 $2,653 +9%
Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures

APC 5213 · Hospital outpatient visit

505 $122,896 $19,548 -7%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

504 $19,247 $2,562 about average
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

423 $113,990 $26,873 +75%

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

$8,675 $532 +177%
Fractures of Hip and Pelvis without Major Complications

MS-DRG 536 · Inpatient stay

$84,129 $12,521 +157%
Acute Myocardial Infarction, Expired with Major Complications

MS-DRG 283 · Inpatient stay

$218,137 $37,693 +156%
Respiratory Failure

MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay

$111,820 $19,772 +131%
Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses with Major Complications

MS-DRG 867 · Inpatient stay

$200,778 $48,203 +126%
Psychoses

MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay

$81,358 $24,207 +126%
Other Disorders of Nervous System with Complications

MS-DRG 092 · Inpatient stay

$93,956 $22,816 +109%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

$24,124 $1,896 +105%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant

MS-DRG 014 · Inpatient stay

$219,827 $161,818 -56%
Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Complications or High Dose

MS-DRG 838 · Inpatient stay

$39,144 $22,054 -45%
Chemotherapy without Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis with Major Complications

MS-DRG 846 · Inpatient stay

$70,657 $29,623 -34%
Concomitant Left Atrial Appendage Closure and Cardiac Ablation

MS-DRG 317 · Inpatient stay

$232,126 $56,560 -34%
Level 7 Radiation Therapy

APC 5627 · Hospital outpatient visit

$40,999 $6,508 -31%
Other Kidney and Urinary Tract Procedures with Major Complications

MS-DRG 673 · Inpatient stay

$107,814 $40,336 -30%
Other Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat Operating Room Procedures with Complications

MS-DRG 144 · Inpatient stay

$76,585 $19,467 -30%
Reticuloendothelial and Immunity Disorders with Major Complications

MS-DRG 814 · Inpatient stay

$87,097 $26,176 -30%

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.