20/100
#2,177 nationally
Wellstar Paulding Medical Center
2518 Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway, Hiram, GA 30141 · (470) 644-7000
Charges far above the national norm
For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, Wellstar Paulding Medical Center billed $7.84 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
- 7.8x
- volume-weighted across all its priced work
- Procedures priced
- 73
- inpatient and outpatient combined
- Rank in GA
- #69
- 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.
Better than 13% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 22% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 21% of U.S. hospitals.
Better than 38% 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 |
294 | $29,744 | $2,439 | +53% |
|
Sepsis (severe)
MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay |
212 | $116,754 | $16,059 | +79% |
|
Heart Failure (severe)
MS-DRG 291 · Inpatient stay |
165 | $77,669 | $9,082 | +79% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
163 | $23,513 | $2,101 | +100% |
|
Level 1 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5191 · Hospital outpatient visit |
100 | $29,582 | $3,029 | +17% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
86 | $87,637 | $10,213 | +88% |
|
Respiratory Infection (severe)
MS-DRG 177 · Inpatient stay |
71 | $87,219 | $12,267 | +59% |
|
Level 5 Urology and Related Services
APC 5375 · Hospital outpatient visit |
71 | $32,917 | $4,748 | +20% |
|
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage
APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit |
67 | $18,310 | $1,505 | +82% |
|
Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services
APC 5361 · Hospital outpatient visit |
60 | $40,455 | $5,355 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures
APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$26,427 | $1,766 | +125% |
|
Respiratory Failure
MS-DRG 189 · Inpatient stay |
$99,015 | $13,372 | +105% |
|
COPD (severe)
MS-DRG 190 · Inpatient stay |
$84,065 | $7,776 | +101% |
|
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures
APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$23,513 | $2,101 | +100% |
|
Sepsis (without major complications)
MS-DRG 872 · Inpatient stay |
$74,020 | $7,994 | +89% |
|
Pneumonia (severe)
MS-DRG 193 · Inpatient stay |
$87,637 | $10,213 | +88% |
|
Level 2 Vascular Procedures
APC 5182 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$16,117 | $1,487 | +88% |
|
Red Blood Cell Disorders without Major Complications
MS-DRG 812 · Inpatient stay |
$68,491 | $11,662 | +84% |
Where it charges least relative to everyone else
| Procedure | Charged | Actually paid | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Diabetes with Major Complications
MS-DRG 637 · Inpatient stay |
$51,470 | $8,975 | -9% |
|
Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with Complications
MS-DRG 330 · Inpatient stay |
$94,053 | $16,200 | -6% |
|
Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures
APC 5223 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$48,241 | $9,902 | -6% |
|
Level 4 Endovascular Procedures
APC 5194 · Hospital outpatient visit |
$94,429 | $13,920 | about average |
|
Kidney or Urinary Disorder (with complications)
MS-DRG 699 · Inpatient stay |
$37,937 | $9,780 | about average |
|
Heart Catheter Procedure (severe)
MS-DRG 321 · Inpatient stay |
$146,124 | $26,183 | about average |
|
Heart Catheter Procedure (without major complications)
MS-DRG 322 · Inpatient stay |
$112,171 | $14,409 | +10% |
|
Circulatory Disorders Except Heart Attack, with Cardiac Catheterization with Major
MS-DRG 286 · Inpatient stay |
$98,425 | $15,077 | +12% |
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.