Inpatient stays / DRG 520
MS-DRG 520 · 56 hospitals · 3,832 stays
DRG 520: Back and Neck Procedures except Spinal Fusion without CC/MCC
Medicare patients had 3,832 stays in DRG 520 in 2024. Hospitals charged an average of $78,814 per stay and were paid $14,004 — a ratio of 5.6 to 1 — of which Medicare's own share averaged $10,597. Average charges ran from $18,716 at the least expensive hospital to $211,265 at the most; half of hospitals charged between $49,646 and $87,559.
- 1Average charge $78,814
- 2Average paid $14,004
- 3Reporting hospitals 56
- 4Medicare stays 3,832
By state
Average charges for DRG 520 were highest in Colorado ($147,801) and lowest in Maryland ($23,998). Payments vary far less than charges, because Medicare sets them: they range across states from $9,866 to $21,180.
| State | Stays | Avg charge | Avg paid | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 40 | $147,801 | $12,312 | 12× |
| Nevada | 37 | $139,877 | $14,092 | 9.9× |
| California | 441 | $124,536 | $18,572 | 6.7× |
| Florida | 333 | $110,466 | $12,138 | 9.1× |
| Alaska | 12 | $96,296 | $19,059 | 5.1× |
| Arizona | 97 | $91,438 | $12,258 | 7.5× |
| Texas | 295 | $90,877 | $12,328 | 7.4× |
| New Mexico | 23 | $88,129 | $11,265 | 7.8× |
| Alabama | 39 | $81,973 | $12,252 | 6.7× |
| New York | 256 | $81,204 | $17,978 | 4.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 198 | $80,647 | $12,580 | 6.4× |
| New Jersey | 84 | $79,118 | $14,188 | 5.6× |
| South Carolina | 83 | $76,678 | $13,036 | 5.9× |
| Georgia | 77 | $76,596 | $13,471 | 5.7× |
| Connecticut | 28 | $71,900 | $16,584 | 4.3× |
| Washington | 47 | $70,229 | $14,406 | 4.9× |
| Illinois | 144 | $69,716 | $15,932 | 4.4× |
| District of Columbia | 28 | $68,076 | $17,484 | 3.9× |
| Kentucky | 53 | $65,901 | $10,734 | 6.1× |
| Indiana | 59 | $65,302 | $11,129 | 5.9× |
| Virginia | 104 | $65,113 | $11,977 | 5.4× |
| Oklahoma | 50 | $64,123 | $11,002 | 5.8× |
| Idaho | 35 | $63,675 | $13,692 | 4.7× |
| Ohio | 139 | $62,404 | $12,037 | 5.2× |
| Louisiana | 37 | $62,278 | $10,194 | 6.1× |
| Kansas | 65 | $59,428 | $11,084 | 5.4× |
| North Carolina | 103 | $59,209 | $13,145 | 4.5× |
| Oregon | 27 | $58,532 | $15,130 | 3.9× |
| Missouri | 88 | $56,491 | $12,231 | 4.6× |
| Tennessee | 69 | $56,351 | $11,847 | 4.8× |
| Mississippi | 31 | $56,309 | $11,448 | 4.9× |
| New Hampshire | 28 | $55,425 | $12,943 | 4.3× |
| Vermont | 11 | $55,386 | $11,372 | 4.9× |
| Iowa | 40 | $54,090 | $12,248 | 4.4× |
| West Virginia | 15 | $53,234 | $14,502 | 3.7× |
| South Dakota | 14 | $52,298 | $11,019 | 4.7× |
| Michigan | 86 | $50,929 | $13,071 | 3.9× |
| Nebraska | 33 | $50,156 | $10,903 | 4.6× |
| Utah | 32 | $49,215 | $12,175 | 4× |
| Wisconsin | 31 | $48,706 | $14,197 | 3.4× |
| Minnesota | 89 | $47,599 | $13,453 | 3.5× |
| Massachusetts | 115 | $45,760 | $16,190 | 2.8× |
| North Dakota | 11 | $40,924 | $11,433 | 3.6× |
| Montana | 36 | $38,932 | $11,168 | 3.5× |
| Delaware | 19 | $34,736 | $13,393 | 2.6× |
| Arkansas | 41 | $33,137 | $9,866 | 3.4× |
| Rhode Island | 16 | $25,990 | $14,339 | 1.8× |
| Maryland | 76 | $23,998 | $21,180 | 1.1× |
Highest average charges
| Hospital | Charge | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA · 32 stays | $211,265 | $17,826 |
| John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus Walnut Creek, CA · 19 stays | $203,345 | $15,798 |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · 11 stays | $186,522 | $22,963 |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA · 20 stays | $170,802 | $18,792 |
| Medical City Fort Worth Fort Worth, TX · 15 stays | $159,544 | $15,833 |
| NYU Langone Hospitals New York, NY · 18 stays | $149,046 | $19,279 |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA · 12 stays | $131,603 | $13,822 |
| Honorhealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center Scottsdale, AZ · 16 stays | $110,925 | $11,453 |
| Hospital of Univ of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA · 13 stays | $105,238 | $17,228 |
| New York-Presbyterian Hospital New York, NY · 24 stays | $99,263 | $23,872 |
Lowest average charges
| Hospital | Charge | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Surgical Hospital No Little Rock, AR · 14 stays | $18,716 | $9,020 |
| Rhode Island Hospital Providence, RI · 11 stays | $21,750 | $14,931 |
| Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, LLC Wichita, KS · 25 stays | $24,224 | $8,952 |
| Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Baltimore, MD · 23 stays | $25,152 | $22,155 |
| Billings Clinic Hospital Billings, MT · 13 stays | $29,130 | $11,552 |
| Christianacare Newark, DE · 18 stays | $32,771 | $13,459 |
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · 11 stays | $35,962 | $17,059 |
| Deaconess Hospital Inc Evansville, IN · 16 stays | $36,114 | $11,301 |
| Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZ · 13 stays | $40,263 | $11,840 |
| Virginia Hospital Center Arlington, VA · 16 stays | $41,735 | $11,239 |
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.