Headache Cost in Massachusetts — Compare All Hospitals
Severe or persistent headaches, such as migraine, that need hospital care for relief. The stay typically involves IV medications and tests to rule out more serious causes.
State average
$27,335
gross charge · DRG 103
Hospitals
14
with published pricing
Price range
$16,464 – $40,509
low to high
Hospitals ranked by gross charge
- 1
Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge, MA
Gross charge $16,464 - 2
Lowell General Hospital
Lowell, MA
Gross charge $16,875Cash pay $11,812 - 3
MelroseWakefield Hospital
Melrose, MA
Gross charge $16,875Cash pay $11,812 - 4
Tufts Medical Center
Boston, MA
Gross charge $16,875Cash pay $11,812 - 5
Umass Memorial Healthalliance Hospitals
Leominster, MA
Gross charge $26,347 - 6
Umass Memorial Health - Harrington Hospital
Southbridge, MA
Gross charge $26,347 - 7
Umass Memorial Medical Center/University Campus
Worcester, MA
Gross charge $26,347 - 8
Southcoast Hospitals Group
Fall River, MA
Gross charge $26,759Cash pay $10,106 - 9
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Newton, MA
Gross charge $29,724Cash pay $22,293 - 10
Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Northampton, MA
Gross charge $31,120Cash pay $23,340 - 11
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
Gross charge $33,939Cash pay $25,455 - 12
Mercy Medical Center
Springfield, MA
Gross charge $34,006Cash pay $18,703 - 13
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, MA
Gross charge $40,509Cash pay $30,382Medicare pays (avg) $7,450 - 14
Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital
Jamaica Plain, MA
Gross charge $40,509Cash pay $30,382 - 15
Saint Anne's Hospital
Fall River, MA
Gross charge — - 16
Holyoke Medical Center
Holyoke, MA
Gross charge — - 17
Berkshire Medical Center (Acute Care)
Pittsfield, MA
Gross charge — - 18
Heywood Hospital
Gardner, MA
Gross charge — - 19
Athol Hospital
Athol, MA
Gross charge — - 20
Mount Auburn Hospital
Cambridge, MA
Gross charge — - 21
Baystate Franklin Medical Center
Greenfield, MA
Gross charge — - 22
Anna Jaques Hospital
Newburyport, MA
Gross charge — - 23
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham
Needham, MA
Gross charge — - 24
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA
Gross charge — - 25
New England Baptist Hospital
Boston, MA
Gross charge — - 26
Winchester Hospital
Winchester, MA
Gross charge —Medicare pays (avg) $4,288 - 27
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Milton
Milton, MA
Gross charge — - 28
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington
Burlington, MA
Gross charge — - 29
Fairview Hospital
Great Barrington, MA
Gross charge — - 30
Falmouth Hospital
Falmouth, MA
Gross charge —
14 Massachusetts hospitals publish gross charges for headache (DRG 103). Prices range from $16,464 to $40,509 — roughly $24,046 apart. The cheapest is Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge; the most expensive is Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain. The state average sits at $27,335.
These numbers are list prices — what the hospital bills before any insurance adjustment. 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 headache at twice the price of another typically negotiates higher rates with insurers too, and quotes more for uninsured patients.
You usually don't choose a hospital during an urgent headache admission. This page is for the planning side: patients with chronic conditions weighing their options, caregivers picking ahead of time, or employers comparing in-network facilities. Click any hospital name for its full quality profile — CMS overall star rating, mortality and readmission rates, patient-experience scores. When two nearby hospitals look similar on quality, the one with lower published charges is the safer default for routine medical admissions.
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 headache in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 103 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.