Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, Inc

401 9th Avenue NW Post Office Box 1210, Watertown, SD 57201 · (605) 882-7000

General hospitalVoluntary non-profit - PrivateEmergency roomCMS rating ★★★★★

The money

$35what care cost the hospital for every $100 it billed

$24.0Mnet income, all sources

−3.7%margin on patient care alone

$864,462cost of charity care (0.8% of costs)

$4.5Munpaid bills written off (bad debt)

81beds

From the hospital's Medicare cost report for the year ending May 2025. Non-profit hospitals must have a financial assistance (charity care) policy; ask for it if a bill is hard to pay.

Hospital stays

Medicare figures are 2024 averages for this hospital; the bars show how much of the bill was actually paid.

Billed (list price)Actually paid (Medicare + patient)

Stay	Medicare stays	Billed	Paid
Sepsis, with major complications 871	78	$22,927	$15,402
Respiratory failure 189	47	$22,129	$9,898
Heart failure, with major complications 291	42	$16,177	$10,323
Pneumonia, with major complications 193	37	$18,170	$10,547
Hip or knee replacement 470	29	$62,359	$15,073
Dehydration and electrolyte problems 641	28	$13,562	$6,418
Hip replacement after a hip fracture 522	26	$53,854	$16,710
Stomach or intestinal bleeding, with complications 378	25	$18,496	$8,046
Urinary tract infection 690	25	$12,332	$6,702
Heart stent 322	21	$47,834	$14,438
Hip or thigh bone surgery (not replacement), with complications 481	21	$50,355	$16,451
Lung infection, with major complications 177	18	$19,677	$13,188
Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures Without Cc/Mcc 331	18	$34,599	$13,756
Stomach and digestive disorders 392	18	$13,619	$6,467
Sepsis 872	18	$20,063	$8,360
Signs and Symptoms Without Mcc 948	18	$16,811	$6,564
Kidney failure, with complications 683	16	$14,444	$7,547
Bowel surgery, with complications 330	14	$55,235	$21,194
Dehydration and electrolyte problems, with major complications 640	14	$18,507	$10,468
Kidney failure, with major complications 682	13	$19,943	$11,898
Skin infection (cellulitis) 603	12	$12,610	$7,268
Irregular heartbeat, with complications 309	11	$9,121	$6,098
Back problems (no surgery) 552	11	$12,104	$7,820

Cash and insurer prices for this hospital haven't been added yet. Every US hospital must publish them; search the hospital's website for "price transparency" or "standard charges".