Healthcare Compared

About Healthcare Compared

Healthcare Compared brings hospital pricing, quality metrics, and financial data together in one place. Our mission is to make hospital cost and quality information accessible and transparent, empowering patients and researchers to make informed healthcare decisions.

Base Charge & Services: Inpatient Data Only
All pricing data in this app is based on Medicare inpatient claims. Outpatient, emergency department, and physician services are not included.
Data Sources & Periods
Financial data: FY 2023 (Oct 1, 2022 – Sep 30, 2023). Quality metrics: Apr 2021 – Mar 2024. Patient experience: Oct 2023 – Sep 2024.

At a Glance

4,142
Hospitals Shown
72%
With Pricing
6
Financial Metrics
5
Quality Metrics
534
Service Types (DRGs)
$37,741
Avg Base Charge
2,980 of the 4,142 displayed hospitals (72%) have case-mix adjusted pricing; 71% have at least one quality metric
Displayed hospitals are those from CMS source files (6,000 total) with valid map coordinates and usable financial data — hospitals that could not be geocoded or lacked financial data are not shown

How to Use

1
Explore Hospitals
Use the interactive map or list view to browse hospitals. Search by name, city, or state.
2
Apply Filters
Narrow results by hospital type, bed size, star rating, financial metrics, quality scores, and services.
3
Choose What to Compare
Select a metric to rank hospitals — Base Charge, Net Revenue, Mortality Rate, and more.
4
View Rankings & Analysis
See color-coded rankings, market position, and median comparisons for visible hospitals.
5
Get Detailed Information
Click any hospital for full financial data, quality metrics, reported services, and rankings.
6
Compare Side-by-Side
Add two hospitals to Compare for a direct head-to-head on pricing, quality, and scale.
Pro Tips
✓Use the metric selector to switch between Base Charge, Net Revenue, and quality metrics — the map and list update instantly.
✓The ranking colors (green to red) show how a hospital compares to others in the current view.
✓Zoom the map to focus on a specific area — rankings and statistics update based on visible hospitals.
✓Use filters to narrow by star rating or bed size before comparing hospitals.

Definitions

Financial Metrics
Base Charge
Case-mix adjusted average charge per discharge. Calculated as (Inpatient Charges ÷ Discharges) ÷ Case Mix Index. These are billed list charges — not negotiated rates or amounts paid — adjusted for patient complexity.
Average Charge
Average billed charge per discharge without case-mix adjustment. Calculated as Inpatient Charges ÷ Discharges.
Case Mix Index (CMI)
Average complexity and severity of cases treated. Higher values indicate more complex procedures. Used to adjust Base Charge for fair comparisons.
Gross Patient Revenue
Total charges billed to patients and insurers before any deductions.
Net Patient Revenue
Revenue the hospital records after contractual adjustments, discounts, and allowances are subtracted from gross charges (accrual basis, as reported on the cost report).
Net-to-Gross Ratio
Net patient revenue as a percentage of gross charges. (Net Revenue ÷ Gross Revenue) × 100. Primarily reflects chargemaster markup and payer mix rather than collection performance — hospitals with lower list-price markups show higher ratios.
Quality Metrics
Death Rate (Mortality)
Hospital mortality rate compared to national average. Lower rates indicate better outcomes.
Readmission Rate
Percentage of patients readmitted within 30 days. Lower rates suggest better quality of initial care.
Safety Score
CMS PSI-90 composite of patient safety events (infections, surgical complications, adverse events), expressed relative to the expected rate — 1.00 means as expected. Lower scores indicate safer care.
Patient Experience
HCAHPS survey scores measuring satisfaction with hospital care, communication, responsiveness, and environment. Higher is better.
Overall Star Rating
CMS 1-5 star rating combining roughly 46 measures across five domains: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely & effective care. Patient surveys are one component, not the sole basis.
Services & Other Terms
Service Price
Average charge billed for traditional Medicare inpatient stays in a specific service category (DRG). Medicare pays a fixed rate per DRG regardless of billed charges — these figures are billed charges, not negotiated prices or amounts paid.
DRG (Diagnosis Related Group)
Classification system that groups patients with similar diagnoses and treatment patterns for billing purposes.
Market Position
Percentage above or below the median for the selected metric among visible hospitals.
Rankings & Percentiles
Color-coded position (green to red) showing how a hospital compares to others currently in view.
Hospital Classifications
Control Type (Ownership)
Hospital ownership: Non-Profit, For-Profit, or Government operated.
Hospital Type
Classification such as Short Term Acute Care, Critical Access, Long Term, Rehabilitation, or Psychiatric.
Bed Size
Total number of licensed beds available. Indicates hospital capacity and scale.

Understanding Prices

What These Prices Represent
Prices shown are derived from Medicare Cost Reports and Medicare Utilization & Payment data. They represent inpatient hospital charges only — not outpatient visits, emergency services, or physician fees.
Important Distinctions
Base Charge is adjusted for patient complexity (case mix) for fair hospital-to-hospital comparison
Service Prices are average charges for specific procedures (DRGs) as reported to Medicare
All data is inpatient only — outpatient and emergency services are not included
Listed prices are not the same as negotiated insurance rates or out-of-pocket costs
Uninsured patients may face different pricing structures than what is shown
What Affects Your Actual Cost
Insurance negotiated rates (often significantly lower than list prices)
Deductibles, copays, and coinsurance requirements
In-network vs. out-of-network status
Specific diagnosis and complications
Additional services, tests, and specialist consultations
How to Use This Data
Compare relative pricing between hospitals in your area
Identify significantly lower-cost or higher-cost facilities
Research specific procedures before scheduling
Combine pricing with quality metrics for a complete picture
Use as a starting point for discussions with providers and insurers
Always Verify Pricing
Contact hospitals directly for current pricing, verify insurance coverage, and confirm in-network status before making care decisions.

Support & Feedback

We are committed to making Healthcare Compared as accurate and useful as possible. Your feedback helps us improve the experience for everyone.

If you find incorrect data, have feature suggestions, or need help using the app, please reach out through the channels below.

Report a Data Issue
Let us know if hospital information appears incorrect or outdated.
Suggest an Improvement
Share ideas for new features, metrics, or workflow improvements.
Contact Us

Email healthcarecompared@gmail.com for data corrections, questions, or feedback. Hospitals and health systems: if you believe a figure shown for your facility is inaccurate, email us with the hospital name, state, and the metric in question — we review every correction request against the underlying CMS source files.

Best Way to Reach Us
When reporting an issue, include the hospital name, the metric in question, and the state. This helps us investigate and resolve issues quickly.

App Information

Version1.0.0
Financial DataFY 2023
Quality Data2021–2024
Last UpdatedMarch 2026