Inpatient stays / DRG 026
MS-DRG 026 · 181 hospitals · 6,331 stays
DRG 026: Craniotomy and Endovascular Intracranial Procedures with CC
Medicare patients had 6,331 stays in DRG 026 in 2024. Hospitals charged an average of $165,029 per stay and were paid $31,688 — a ratio of 5.2 to 1 — of which Medicare's own share averaged $25,350. Average charges ran from $25,774 at the least expensive hospital to $687,586 at the most; half of hospitals charged between $106,169 and $191,733.
- 1Average charge $165,029
- 2Average paid $31,688
- 3Reporting hospitals 181
- 4Medicare stays 6,331
By state
Average charges for DRG 026 were highest in Colorado ($294,691) and lowest in Maryland ($49,929). Payments vary far less than charges, because Medicare sets them: they range across states from $22,628 to $59,574.
| State | Stays | Avg charge | Avg paid | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 88 | $294,691 | $29,927 | 9.8× |
| California | 634 | $274,155 | $42,489 | 6.5× |
| Nevada | 69 | $269,490 | $27,836 | 9.7× |
| Kentucky | 70 | $216,796 | $28,595 | 7.6× |
| Alaska | 16 | $216,640 | $31,555 | 6.9× |
| Oklahoma | 77 | $202,507 | $28,869 | 7× |
| Pennsylvania | 316 | $201,882 | $30,136 | 6.7× |
| Florida | 464 | $199,974 | $26,022 | 7.7× |
| Texas | 456 | $193,273 | $28,557 | 6.8× |
| Kansas | 72 | $189,016 | $24,225 | 7.8× |
| New Jersey | 135 | $184,641 | $32,464 | 5.7× |
| New York | 357 | $174,412 | $37,090 | 4.7× |
| Arizona | 177 | $172,385 | $32,254 | 5.3× |
| New Hampshire | 27 | $164,839 | $32,657 | 5× |
| Idaho | 37 | $155,647 | $31,477 | 4.9× |
| Illinois | 195 | $155,242 | $34,232 | 4.5× |
| Washington | 189 | $153,863 | $34,274 | 4.5× |
| District of Columbia | 36 | $151,148 | $36,266 | 4.2× |
| Georgia | 144 | $151,088 | $28,302 | 5.3× |
| Louisiana | 111 | $149,723 | $26,545 | 5.6× |
| Virginia | 195 | $146,048 | $28,878 | 5.1× |
| Tennessee | 137 | $144,782 | $27,312 | 5.3× |
| South Carolina | 81 | $142,535 | $26,035 | 5.5× |
| Indiana | 104 | $142,244 | $26,138 | 5.4× |
| Alabama | 74 | $141,191 | $24,790 | 5.7× |
| South Dakota | 34 | $138,591 | $24,441 | 5.7× |
| Ohio | 224 | $125,106 | $29,298 | 4.3× |
| Missouri | 148 | $124,621 | $28,585 | 4.4× |
| Iowa | 44 | $119,760 | $25,499 | 4.7× |
| Vermont | 11 | $118,562 | $33,004 | 3.6× |
| Wisconsin | 107 | $117,177 | $27,517 | 4.3× |
| Maine | 12 | $117,077 | $59,574 | 2× |
| Oregon | 72 | $116,739 | $33,623 | 3.5× |
| North Carolina | 224 | $115,226 | $29,154 | 4× |
| New Mexico | 14 | $110,843 | $28,817 | 3.8× |
| West Virginia | 41 | $109,827 | $26,235 | 4.2× |
| Michigan | 158 | $109,706 | $31,415 | 3.5× |
| Nebraska | 65 | $109,414 | $25,948 | 4.2× |
| Connecticut | 71 | $103,301 | $37,157 | 2.8× |
| Minnesota | 193 | $102,854 | $34,427 | 3× |
| Arkansas | 49 | $100,481 | $22,628 | 4.4× |
| Mississippi | 61 | $100,316 | $23,719 | 4.2× |
| Massachusetts | 199 | $99,998 | $35,080 | 2.9× |
| Hawaii | 23 | $98,917 | $32,917 | 3× |
| Utah | 53 | $94,627 | $27,512 | 3.4× |
| North Dakota | 26 | $91,241 | $25,186 | 3.6× |
| Delaware | 15 | $76,233 | $25,938 | 2.9× |
| Montana | 37 | $68,754 | $23,991 | 2.9× |
| Maryland | 181 | $49,929 | $44,476 | 1.1× |
Highest average charges
| Hospital | Charge | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| HCA Healthone Swedish Englewood, CO · 18 stays | $687,586 | $34,230 |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA · 13 stays | $513,944 | $71,387 |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA · 22 stays | $513,309 | $44,840 |
| John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus Walnut Creek, CA · 28 stays | $481,830 | $43,554 |
| Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center Thousand Oaks, CA · 15 stays | $479,217 | $38,903 |
| Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center Las Vegas, NV · 14 stays | $429,935 | $26,662 |
| Baptist Health Louisville Louisville, KY · 11 stays | $370,095 | $34,391 |
| NYU Langone Hospitals New York, NY · 32 stays | $357,170 | $44,297 |
| Wesley Medical Center Wichita, KS · 15 stays | $350,715 | $23,866 |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · 70 stays | $350,602 | $51,571 |
Lowest average charges
| Hospital | Charge | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Suburban Hospital Bethesda, MD · 11 stays | $25,774 | $22,949 |
| Holy Cross Hospital Silver Spring, MD · 12 stays | $30,969 | $28,417 |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · 14 stays | $36,555 | $35,743 |
| Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center Rosedale, MD · 14 stays | $40,811 | $35,980 |
| Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center Rockville, MD · 12 stays | $45,646 | $40,067 |
| Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Baltimore, MD · 43 stays | $59,242 | $52,931 |
| Albany Medical Center Hospital Albany, NY · 13 stays | $61,790 | $34,928 |
| UNC Hospitals Chapel Hill, NC · 21 stays | $66,488 | $32,552 |
| Duke University Hospital Durham, NC · 47 stays | $67,246 | $31,251 |
| Billings Clinic Hospital Billings, MT · 14 stays | $67,606 | $25,594 |
These are averages over each hospital's Medicare stays in this DRG, which mix simple and complicated cases. A high average charge is the hospital's pricing, not a sign of better or worse care, and not what a patient pays: Medicare patients owe the inpatient deductible, and people with other coverage pay their plan's negotiated rate.
Sources: CMS Medicare Inpatient Hospitals — by Provider and Service / by Geography and Service, data year 2024. Hospitals with fewer than 11 stays are suppressed by CMS. Checked 2026-10-24. Methodology.