Inpatient stays / DRG 552
MS-DRG 552 · 1,284 hospitals · 49,460 stays
DRG 552: Medical Back Problems without MCC
Medicare patients had 49,460 stays in DRG 552 in 2024. Hospitals charged an average of $48,855 per stay and were paid $9,347 — a ratio of 5.2 to 1 — of which Medicare's own share averaged $7,128. Average charges ran from $8,422 at the least expensive hospital to $268,182 at the most; half of hospitals charged between $28,437 and $58,318.
- 1Average charge $48,855
- 2Average paid $9,347
- 3Reporting hospitals 1,284
- 4Medicare stays 49,460
By state
Average charges for DRG 552 were highest in Nevada ($86,631) and lowest in Maryland ($14,232). Payments vary far less than charges, because Medicare sets them: they range across states from $7,150 to $12,841.
| State | Stays | Avg charge | Avg paid | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 497 | $86,631 | $9,427 | 9.2× |
| California | 4,484 | $83,511 | $11,570 | 7.2× |
| Alaska | 79 | $78,750 | $11,989 | 6.6× |
| Colorado | 558 | $71,306 | $8,504 | 8.4× |
| New Jersey | 2,018 | $67,340 | $9,915 | 6.8× |
| Florida | 5,223 | $64,016 | $8,297 | 7.7× |
| New York | 3,372 | $61,588 | $12,000 | 5.1× |
| Texas | 3,058 | $61,283 | $9,108 | 6.7× |
| Kansas | 644 | $58,826 | $7,898 | 7.4× |
| Arizona | 877 | $50,671 | $8,722 | 5.8× |
| District of Columbia | 114 | $50,389 | $10,903 | 4.6× |
| Georgia | 1,182 | $47,254 | $10,323 | 4.6× |
| South Carolina | 750 | $46,977 | $8,437 | 5.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,936 | $46,037 | $8,567 | 5.4× |
| New Hampshire | 305 | $45,058 | $8,548 | 5.3× |
| Tennessee | 962 | $42,677 | $8,699 | 4.9× |
| Washington | 612 | $41,150 | $9,181 | 4.5× |
| Alabama | 641 | $40,871 | $8,361 | 4.9× |
| Connecticut | 443 | $40,151 | $10,724 | 3.7× |
| Virginia | 1,323 | $39,275 | $8,439 | 4.7× |
| Illinois | 2,339 | $38,535 | $9,280 | 4.2× |
| New Mexico | 139 | $37,457 | $8,988 | 4.2× |
| Oklahoma | 469 | $37,198 | $8,147 | 4.6× |
| Missouri | 1,226 | $37,024 | $8,258 | 4.5× |
| Vermont | 59 | $36,760 | $7,476 | 4.9× |
| Idaho | 155 | $36,102 | $8,700 | 4.1× |
| Hawaii | 100 | $35,805 | $12,228 | 2.9× |
| Utah | 282 | $34,926 | $8,780 | 4× |
| South Dakota | 171 | $34,825 | $8,809 | 4× |
| Maine | 138 | $34,666 | $9,913 | 3.5× |
| Louisiana | 435 | $34,053 | $7,665 | 4.4× |
| Indiana | 1,066 | $33,255 | $8,339 | 4× |
| Kentucky | 600 | $32,944 | $7,560 | 4.4× |
| Wisconsin | 687 | $32,940 | $8,467 | 3.9× |
| North Carolina | 1,127 | $32,893 | $8,950 | 3.7× |
| Oregon | 334 | $31,309 | $10,222 | 3.1× |
| Ohio | 1,994 | $31,032 | $8,211 | 3.8× |
| Wyoming | 75 | $30,653 | $10,989 | 2.8× |
| Minnesota | 806 | $30,396 | $8,926 | 3.4× |
| Delaware | 232 | $30,282 | $9,112 | 3.3× |
| Mississippi | 350 | $30,068 | $7,409 | 4.1× |
| Michigan | 1,663 | $29,703 | $8,676 | 3.4× |
| Nebraska | 385 | $29,016 | $8,485 | 3.4× |
| Iowa | 519 | $28,764 | $7,489 | 3.8× |
| West Virginia | 329 | $28,405 | $8,124 | 3.5× |
| Rhode Island | 107 | $28,174 | $9,465 | 3× |
| Arkansas | 319 | $27,326 | $7,150 | 3.8× |
| North Dakota | 161 | $26,334 | $8,541 | 3.1× |
| Massachusetts | 1,746 | $22,599 | $9,499 | 2.4× |
| Montana | 131 | $21,928 | $7,864 | 2.8× |
| Maryland | 1,238 | $14,232 | $12,841 | 1.1× |
Highest average charges
| Hospital | Charge | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Health Regional Medical Center Trenton, NJ · 13 stays | $268,182 | $11,401 |
| Capital Health Medical Center - Hopewell Pennington, NJ · 15 stays | $247,855 | $9,566 |
| Good Samaritan Hospital San Jose, CA · 39 stays | $183,669 | $12,404 |
| Desert Regional Medical Center Palm Springs, CA · 48 stays | $183,165 | $13,168 |
| Regional Medical Center of San Jose San Jose, CA · 29 stays | $182,425 | $12,253 |
| Doctors Medical Center Modesto, CA · 26 stays | $171,366 | $12,620 |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA · 146 stays | $170,720 | $13,859 |
| San Ramon Regional Medical Center San Ramon, CA · 16 stays | $169,357 | $10,348 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest Houston, TX · 14 stays | $156,440 | $12,478 |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · 67 stays | $148,493 | $16,017 |
Lowest average charges
| Hospital | Charge | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Columbia, MD · 67 stays | $8,422 | $7,667 |
| Chambers Memorial Hospital Danville, AR · 12 stays | $8,835 | $7,608 |
| Suburban Hospital Bethesda, MD · 74 stays | $9,796 | $8,794 |
| Holy Cross Germantown Hospital Germantown, MD · 12 stays | $9,870 | $8,779 |
| University of MD St Joseph Medical Center Towson, MD · 51 stays | $10,139 | $9,069 |
| Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Inc Annapolis, MD · 103 stays | $10,210 | $9,407 |
| Union Hospital of Cecil County Elkton, MD · 12 stays | $10,274 | $9,139 |
| Tidalhealth Peninsula Regional, Inc Salisbury, MD · 21 stays | $10,484 | $9,721 |
| Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · 61 stays | $10,616 | $7,950 |
| Frederick Health Hospital Frederick, MD · 47 stays | $11,029 | $9,938 |
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.