DRG 281 · Cardiovascular

Heart Attack Cost in Massachusetts — Compare All Hospitals

Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) with complications — discharged alive.

State average
$47,151
gross charge · DRG 281
Hospitals
14
with published pricing
Price range
$19,320 – $93,977
low to high
Lowest $19,320 Highest $93,977

14 Massachusetts hospitals publish gross charges for heart attack (DRG 281). Prices range from $19,320 to $93,977 — roughly $74,657 apart. The cheapest is Lowell General Hospital in Lowell; the most expensive is Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain. The state average sits at $47,151.

The number you see is each hospital's published "list price" — the gross charge for the facility component of heart attack. 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 heart attack at twice the price of another typically negotiates higher rates with insurers too, and quotes more for uninsured patients.

If you're scheduling heart attack 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 heart attack in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 281 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.

What this hospital charge usually covers

The gross-charge number above is the hospital's facility bill for heart attack. Here's what's typically inside that price (typical inpatient stay: 3–5 days):

Included in the hospital bill

  • Emergency department evaluation and cardiac workup
  • Inpatient cardiac monitoring (often in a coronary care unit)
  • Diagnostic catheterization and any required stenting
  • Inpatient medications and routine labs during admission

Usually billed separately

  • Cardiologist, ED physician, and any interventional specialist professional fees
  • Ambulance transport
  • Outpatient cardiac rehab and follow-up visits after discharge
  • Long-term medications (antiplatelets, statins, beta-blockers)

Quality signals to check before picking a hospital

Price alone won't tell you which hospital does heart attack best. These are the CMS quality measures that matter most for this specific procedure. Click any hospital below for its full profile, then look for these:

Heart-Attack Mortality (30-day)

The single most important quality signal — how often patients survive 30 days after a heart attack at this hospital.

Time to Fibrinolysis (STEMI)

For ST-elevation heart attacks treated with clot-busting drugs, every minute counts. Tracks median minutes from arrival to treatment.

Heart-Attack Readmissions

Reflects discharge planning, medication reconciliation, and outpatient cardiology handoff.

When the cheapest hospital may not be the best fit

The list below sorts by price. For heart attack, the lowest price isn't automatically the best fit — these are situations where it's worth weighing additional factors against price. None of the below is medical advice; talk to your doctor about what applies to your specific situation.

Questions to ask your hospital or insurer

The gross charge is the starting point. These are the procedure-specific questions to ask before you commit:

Hospitals ranked by gross charge

  1. 1

    Lowell General Hospital

    Lowell, MA

    35 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $19,320
    Cash pay $13,524
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,188
  2. 2

    MelroseWakefield Hospital

    Melrose, MA

    37 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $19,320
    Cash pay $13,524
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,236
  3. 3

    Tufts Medical Center

    Boston, MA

    17 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $19,320
    Cash pay $13,524
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,333
  4. 4

    Cambridge Health Alliance

    Cambridge, MA

    Gross charge $20,326
  5. 5

    Cooley Dickinson Hospital

    Northampton, MA

    Gross charge $27,851
    Cash pay $20,888
  6. 6

    Southcoast Hospitals Group

    Fall River, MA

    64 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $29,410
    Cash pay $10,391
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,067
  7. 7

    Mercy Medical Center

    Springfield, MA

    15 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $45,194
    Cash pay $24,857
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,075
  8. 8

    Newton-Wellesley Hospital

    Newton, MA

    20 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $53,130
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,160
  9. 9

    Umass Memorial Healthalliance Hospitals

    Leominster, MA

    15 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $58,847
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,038
  10. 10

    Umass Memorial Health - Harrington Hospital

    Southbridge, MA

    Gross charge $58,847
  11. 11

    Umass Memorial Medical Center/University Campus

    Worcester, MA

    56 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $58,847
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,513
  12. 12

    Massachusetts General Hospital

    Boston, MA

    44 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $61,755
    Cash pay $46,316
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,381
  13. 13

    Brigham and Women's Hospital

    Boston, MA

    41 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $93,977
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,213
  14. 14

    Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

    Jamaica Plain, MA

    12 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge $93,977
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,355
  15. 15

    Saint Anne's Hospital

    Fall River, MA

    Gross charge
  16. 16

    Holyoke Medical Center

    Holyoke, MA

    Gross charge
  17. 17

    Berkshire Medical Center (Acute Care)

    Pittsfield, MA

    Gross charge
  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) $7,939
  21. 21

    Baystate Franklin Medical Center

    Greenfield, MA

    Gross charge
  22. 22

    Anna Jaques Hospital

    Newburyport, MA

    12 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $5,497
  23. 23

    Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham

    Needham, MA

    Gross charge
  24. 24

    Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

    Boston, MA

    60 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $9,846
  25. 25

    New England Baptist Hospital

    Boston, MA

    Gross charge
  26. 26

    Winchester Hospital

    Winchester, MA

    21 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $6,150
  27. 27

    Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Milton

    Milton, MA

    Gross charge
  28. 28

    Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington

    Burlington, MA

    60 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $7,738
  29. 29

    Fairview Hospital

    Great Barrington, MA

    Gross charge
  30. 30

    Falmouth Hospital

    Falmouth, MA

    28 Medicare stays/yr
    Gross charge
    Medicare pays (avg) $5,820

Compare heart attack pricing in nearby states