DRG 551 · Musculoskeletal

Back Problems Cost in Kentucky — Compare All Hospitals

Back or spine problems, such as disc disease, spinal narrowing, or severe back pain, treated without surgery. The stay typically involves pain control, medication, and physical therapy.

State average
$43,066
gross charge · DRG 551
Hospitals
18
with published pricing
Price range
$5,405 – $79,753
low to high
Lowest $5,405 Highest $79,753

18 Kentucky hospitals list a gross charge for back problems under the federal price-transparency rule, with quoted prices spanning $5,405 to $79,753. The cheapest is Pineville Community Health Center in Pineville; the most expensive is Norton Hospitals, Inc in Louisville. The state average sits at $43,066.

What's listed is each hospital's gross charge — its published price for the inpatient stay, before any insurance discount. Insurance plans negotiate substantial discounts, Medicare and Medicaid pay fixed federal rates, and uninsured patients can usually qualify for a cash-pay discount. But the gross charge still works as a useful benchmark: a hospital that lists back problems at twice the price of another typically negotiates higher rates with insurers too, and quotes more for uninsured patients.

If you're scheduling back problems in Kentucky, sort the list below by price, then click each hospital name to see its quality profile — CMS overall star rating, surgical-safety measures, readmission rates, patient-experience scores. The cheapest hospital isn't always the right call. Teaching hospitals often charge more because they take complex cases, and a higher-rated community hospital may deliver equivalent outcomes for a straightforward case at a lower price. Use the price column to narrow the field; use the quality data to make the final call.

Pricing comes from each hospital's Machine-Readable File (MRF), published under the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Kentucky hospitals missing from the list either don't perform back problems in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 551 in their most recent MRF, or fell below our data-quality thresholds (we filter out clearly erroneous entries like $0 charges). The list refreshes as hospitals update their files.

Hospitals ranked by gross charge

  1. 1

    Pineville Community Health Center

    Pineville, KY

    Gross charge $5,405
  2. 2

    Monroe County Medical Center

    Tompkinsville, KY

    Gross charge $10,392
    Cash pay $8,625
  3. 3

    Taylor Regional Hospital

    Campbellsville, KY

    Gross charge $20,804
    Cash pay $10,402
  4. 4

    UK St. Claire

    Morehead, KY

    Gross charge $23,930
    Cash pay $17,948
  5. 5

    Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital

    Greenville, KY

    Gross charge $29,332
    Cash pay $19,066
  6. 6

    Owensboro Health Regional Hospital (Acute Care)

    Owensboro, KY

    Gross charge $29,332
    Cash pay $19,066
  7. 7

    Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center

    Leitchfield, KY

    Gross charge $29,332
    Cash pay $19,066
  8. 8
    Gross charge $33,545
    Cash pay $21,804
  9. 9

    Baptist Health Hardin

    Elizabethtown, KY

    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
  10. 10

    Baptist Health Richmond

    Richmond, KY

    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
  11. 11

    Baptist Health Corbin (Acute Care)

    Corbin, KY

    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
  12. 12

    Baptist Health Lexington

    Lexington, KY

    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
  13. 13

    Baptist Health Paducah

    Paducah, KY

    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
  14. 14

    Baptist Health Louisville

    Louisville, KY

    18 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
    Medicare pays (avg) $8,885
  15. 15

    Baptist Health La Grange

    La Grange, KY

    Gross charge $53,202
    Cash pay $39,901
  16. 16
    Gross charge $64,395
    Cash pay $38,637
  17. 17

    Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital (Acute Care)

    Somerset, KY

    Gross charge $76,549
    Cash pay $30,619
  18. 18

    Norton Hospitals, Inc

    Louisville, KY

    22 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $79,753
    Medicare pays (avg) $10,447
  19. 19

    Whitesburg ARH Hospital

    Whitesburg, KY

    Gross charge
  20. 20

    Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center

    Prestonsburg, KY

    Gross charge
  21. 21

    UK King's Daughters Medical Center

    Ashland, KY

    Gross charge
  22. 22

    Saint Joseph Hospital

    Lexington, KY

    Gross charge
  23. 23
    Gross charge
  24. 24

    UofL Health – Shelbyville Hospital

    Shelbyville, KY

    Gross charge
  25. 25

    Middlesboro ARH Hospital

    Middlesboro, KY

    Gross charge
  26. 26
    Gross charge
  27. 27
    Gross charge
  28. 28

    UofL Health – Jewish Hospital

    Louisville, KY

    Gross charge
  29. 29

    Harlan ARH Hospital

    Harlan, KY

    Gross charge
  30. 30

    Jennie Stuart Medical Center

    Hopkinsville, KY

    Gross charge
  31. 31

    Deaconess Henderson Hospital

    Henderson, KY

    Gross charge
  32. 32

    CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Mount Sterling

    Mount Sterling, KY

    Gross charge
  33. 33

    Tug Valley ARH Regional Medical Center

    South Williamson, KY

    Gross charge
  34. 34

    Paintsville ARH Hospital

    Paintsville, KY

    Gross charge
  35. 35

    Harrison Memorial Hospital

    Cynthiana, KY

    Gross charge
  36. 36

    Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville (Acute Care)

    Madisonville, KY

    Gross charge
  37. 37

    Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital

    Paducah, KY

    Gross charge
  38. 38

    University of Louisville Hospital

    Louisville, KY

    12 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $12,361
  39. 39

    CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph East

    Lexington, KY

    Gross charge
  40. 40
    Gross charge
  41. 41

    Morgan County ARH Hospital

    West Liberty, KY

    Gross charge
  42. 42
    Gross charge
  43. 43

    Knox County Hospital

    Barbourville, KY

    Gross charge
  44. 44
    Gross charge
  45. 45

    McDowell ARH Hospital

    Mc Dowell, KY

    Gross charge
  46. 46

    University of Kentucky Hospital

    Lexington, KY

    20 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $12,927

Compare back problems pricing in nearby states