DRG 552 · Musculoskeletal

Medical Back Problems Cost in Massachusetts — Compare All Hospitals

Hospitalization for medical (non-surgical) back conditions including herniated discs, severe radiculopathy, and chronic pain crises.

State average
$32,136
gross charge · DRG 552
Hospitals
14
with published pricing
Price range
$14,109 – $51,500
low to high
Lowest $14,109 Highest $51,500

14 Massachusetts hospitals publish gross charges for medical back problems (DRG 552). Prices range from $14,109 to $51,500 — roughly $37,391 apart. The cheapest is Lowell General Hospital in Lowell; the most expensive is Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The state average sits at $32,136.

The number you see is each hospital's published "list price" — the gross charge for the facility component of medical back problems. 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 medical 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 medical back problems in Massachusetts, 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. Massachusetts hospitals missing from the list either don't perform medical back problems in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 552 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

    Lowell General Hospital

    Lowell, MA

    44 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $14,109
    Cash pay $9,876
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,658
  2. 2

    MelroseWakefield Hospital

    Melrose, MA

    24 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $14,109
    Cash pay $9,876
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,769
  3. 3

    Tufts Medical Center

    Boston, MA

    27 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $14,109
    Cash pay $9,876
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,005
  4. 4

    Southcoast Hospitals Group

    Fall River, MA

    70 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $21,879
    Cash pay $8,208
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,611
  5. 5

    Newton-Wellesley Hospital

    Newton, MA

    88 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $25,708
    Cash pay $19,281
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,054
  6. 6

    Cooley Dickinson Hospital

    Northampton, MA

    Gross charge $28,869
    Cash pay $21,651
  7. 7

    Cambridge Health Alliance

    Cambridge, MA

    Gross charge $31,317
  8. 8

    Umass Memorial Healthalliance Hospitals

    Leominster, MA

    30 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $35,141
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,951
  9. 9

    Umass Memorial Health - Harrington Hospital

    Southbridge, MA

    Gross charge $35,141
  10. 10

    Umass Memorial Medical Center/University Campus

    Worcester, MA

    80 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $35,141
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,790
  11. 11

    Mercy Medical Center

    Springfield, MA

    Gross charge $41,478
    Cash pay $22,813
  12. 12

    Brigham and Women's Hospital

    Boston, MA

    60 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $50,702
    Cash pay $38,027
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,338
  13. 13

    Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

    Jamaica Plain, MA

    28 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $50,702
    Cash pay $38,027
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,022
  14. 14

    Massachusetts General Hospital

    Boston, MA

    45 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $51,500
    Cash pay $38,625
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,199
  15. 15

    Saint Anne's Hospital

    Fall River, MA

    35 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,166
  16. 16

    Holyoke Medical Center

    Holyoke, MA

    Gross charge
  17. 17

    Berkshire Medical Center (Acute Care)

    Pittsfield, MA

    33 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $8,569
  18. 18

    Heywood Hospital

    Gardner, MA

    Gross charge
  19. 19

    Athol Hospital

    Athol, MA

    Gross charge
  20. 20

    Mount Auburn Hospital

    Cambridge, MA

    19 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $8,593
  21. 21

    Baystate Franklin Medical Center

    Greenfield, MA

    Gross charge
  22. 22

    Anna Jaques Hospital

    Newburyport, MA

    34 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,715
  23. 23

    Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham

    Needham, MA

    12 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,030
  24. 24

    Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

    Boston, MA

    53 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,550
  25. 25

    New England Baptist Hospital

    Boston, MA

    Gross charge
  26. 26

    Winchester Hospital

    Winchester, MA

    61 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,141
  27. 27

    Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Milton

    Milton, MA

    27 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,372
  28. 28

    Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington

    Burlington, MA

    65 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,962
  29. 29

    Fairview Hospital

    Great Barrington, MA

    Gross charge
  30. 30

    Falmouth Hospital

    Falmouth, MA

    34 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,565

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