US Health Care Costs

Irregular heartbeat, with complications in North Carolina

MS-DRG 309: Cardiac arrhythmia and conduction disorders with cc

$23,705typical hospital bill
$6,573typical amount paid
$5,114–$13,724range paid across 52 hospitals

North Carolina hospitals billed Medicare a typical $23,705 for this stay in 2024, about 3.6 times what was actually paid. Medicare's payment depends mostly on the hospital's location and teaching role; the bill depends on the hospital's own price list, so bills vary far more than payments.

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

HospitalCityMedicare staysBilledPaid
Wakemed, Cary HospitalCary43$25,763$5,114
Rex HospitalRaleigh181$20,947$5,671
Frye Regional Medical CenterHickory40$47,110$5,699
Atrium Health PinevilleCharlotte43$35,181$5,725
Novant Health Brunswick Medical CenterSupply50$27,946$5,789
Pardee Hospital Henderson CountyHendersonville69$16,961$5,806
Unc Health NashRocky Mount38$23,283$5,874
Novant Health Matthews Medical CenterMatthews36$29,918$5,949
Iredell Memorial Hospital IncStatesville17$31,565$5,969
Novant Health Rowan Medical CenterSalisbury16$22,568$5,976
Ecu Health North HospitalRoanoke Rapids16$22,722$6,053
Johnston HealthSmithfield38$23,538$6,057
Unc Lenoir Health CareKinston21$13,468$6,115
Wilson Medical CenterWilson14$28,254$6,174
Carteret General HospitalMorehead City31$13,706$6,320
Atrium Health ClevelandShelby33$35,587$6,348
Sentara Albemarle Medical CenterElizabeth City21$21,233$6,376
Wilkes Regional Medical CenterNorth Wilkesboro13$18,000$6,398
Unc Health Care WayneGoldsboro31$17,139$6,407
Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical CenterWilmington126$18,797$6,411
Carolina East Medical CenterNew Bern95$17,670$6,413
Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery CeAsheville109$26,589$6,429
Firsthealth Moore Regional HospitalPinehurst46$33,092$6,495
Rutherford Regional Medical CenterRutherfordton13$30,254$6,501
Northern Regional HospitalMount Airy19$14,166$6,505
Caromont Regional Medical CenterGastonia111$26,038$6,570
High Point Regional Health SystemHigh Point24$23,872$6,576
Duke Health Raleigh HospitalRaleigh12$17,974$6,582
Novant Health Forsyth Medical CenterWinston-Salem73$24,803$6,585
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical CenterCharlotte33$30,407$6,615
Catawba Valley Medical CenterHickory24$23,174$6,755
Scotland Memorial HospitalLaurinburg11$28,410$6,767
Atrium Health UnionMonroe35$31,508$6,790
Alamance Regional Medical CenterBurlington18$17,381$6,799
Carolinas Medical Center-NortheastConcord63$31,030$7,057
Watauga Medical CenterBoone22$16,567$7,082
Cape Fear Valley Medical CenterFayetteville72$23,959$7,091
Duke Regional HospitalDurham29$21,330$7,223
AdventHealth HendersonvilleHendersonville15$21,706$7,309
Blue Ridge Healthcare Hospitals, IncMorganton23$30,713$7,383
Novant Health Huntersville Medical CenterHuntersville33$26,028$7,492
Wakemed, Raleigh CampusRaleigh39$31,218$7,705
Vidant Duplin HospitalKenansville11$16,097$7,744
Onslow Memorial HospitalJacksonville14$17,757$7,910
The Moses H. Cone Memorial HospitalGreensboro68$17,526$8,065
Betsy Johnson Regional HospitalDunn11$18,754$8,300
Ecu Health Medical CenterGreenville123$21,577$8,371
Southeastern Regional Medical CenterLumberton15$18,776$8,919
Duke University HospitalDurham87$25,277$10,734
North Carolina Baptist HospitalWinston-Salem76$25,231$11,858
Unc HospitalsChapel Hill43$25,770$12,199
Carolinas Medical Center/Behav HealthCharlotte44$47,426$13,724

Medicare: CMS, 2024 (hospitals with 11 or more Medicare stays). Cash and insurer prices: hospitals' own price files, where read; insurer figures are commercial plans only, median and 10th–90th percentile across plans.