56/100
#1,092 nationally
Virginia Mason Medical Center
925 Seneca St, Seattle, WA 98101 · (206) 223-6600
Charges well above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Virginia Mason Medical Center billed $4.09 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
- 4.1x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 154
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in WA
- #12
- 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.
Better than 58% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 63% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 47% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 59% 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 |
955 | $2,453 | $681 | -22% |
|
Level 3 Urology and Related Services
APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit |
571 | $9,314 | $2,006 | -28% |
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
475 | $12,204 | $1,896 | +4% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
435 | $8,704 | $1,588 | -14% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
215 | $17,661 | $3,249 | -30% |
|
Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5115 · Hospital outpatient visit |
201 | $50,790 | $12,872 | -19% |
|
Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures
APC 5114 · Hospital outpatient visit |
200 | $32,805 | $7,107 | -18% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
185 | $27,887 | $5,182 | about average |
|
Level 4 Urology and Related Services
APC 5374 · Hospital outpatient visit |
177 | $15,476 | $3,491 | -25% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
176 | $30,004 | $5,623 | -15% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Respiratory Failure
MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay |
$86,564 | $21,288 | +79% |
|
Level 5 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5155 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$66,968 | $6,745 | +74% |
|
Urinary Tract Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 689 · Inpatient stay |
$68,901 | $17,296 | +69% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
$97,145 | $24,838 | +49% |
|
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$30,134 | $3,869 | +46% |
|
Complex GI Procedures
APC 5331 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$42,604 | $5,621 | +42% |
|
Disorders of Pancreas Except Malignancy with Complications
MS-DRG 439 · Inpatient stay |
$50,433 | $9,929 | +40% |
|
Psychoses
MS-DRG 885 · Inpatient stay |
$50,309 | $16,007 | +39% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 3 Airway Endoscopy
APC 5153 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$6,143 | $1,669 | -46% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$6,644 | $2,287 | -43% |
|
Level 4 Gynecologic Procedures
APC 5414 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$11,686 | $3,042 | -36% |
|
Back Problems (without major complications)
MS-DRG 552 · Inpatient stay |
$25,304 | $10,571 | -35% |
|
ECMO or Tracheostomy with Mechanical Ventilation >96 Hours or Principal Diagnosis Except
MS-DRG 003 · Inpatient stay |
$570,674 | $229,255 | -35% |
|
Pancreas, Liver and Shunt Procedures with Major Complications
MS-DRG 405 · Inpatient stay |
$176,857 | $54,769 | -32% |
|
Comprehensive Observation Services
APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$13,329 | $2,724 | -31% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$17,661 | $3,249 | -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.