South Carolina / Colleton Medical Center
CMS certification 420030 · Walterboro, SC · 4 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
Colleton Medical Center: charges and Medicare payments
Colleton Medical Center reported 297 Medicare inpatient stays across 11 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 4.37 times what it was paid — mid-range in South Carolina, number 19 of 45 hospitals with at least 100 stays (state median 4.13×, national 4.15×). Its most frequent stay was DRG 871, Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC: 109 stays at an average charge of $69,596, 23% below the national average. It also billed 278 outpatient services, charging 13.34 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 297
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 4.37×
- 3Rank in SC (highest ratio = 1) 19 of 45
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 4
Inpatient stays
For the 11 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, Colleton Medical Center charged more than the national average in 1 (9%). Payments follow Medicare's rates, so they usually vary far less than charges.
| DRG | Stays | Avg charge | vs US | Avg paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 871 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC | 109 | $69,596 | -23% | $16,381 |
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 38 | $49,786 | -12% | $10,672 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 21 | $67,138 | -5% | $13,721 |
| 682 Renal Failure with MCC | 21 | $43,745 | -34% | $12,253 |
| 189 Pulmonary Edema and Respiratory Failure | 20 | $49,065 | -15% | $10,322 |
| 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC | 19 | $59,182 | -1% | $10,910 |
| 872 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without MCC | 17 | $38,768 | -21% | $11,383 |
| 640 Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and... | 15 | $43,344 | -28% | $10,149 |
| 812 Red Blood Cell Disorders without MCC | 15 | $27,093 | -39% | $8,593 |
| 280 Acute Myocardial Infarction, Discharged Alive with MCC | 11 | $79,418 | +5% | $13,092 |
| 683 Renal Failure with CC | 11 | $32,605 | -20% | $7,796 |
Outpatient services
| Service (APC) | Services | Avg charge | Medicare allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Observation Services | 162 | $27,725 | $2,474 |
| Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 24 | $23,086 | $2,991 |
| Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage | 22 | $9,054 | $1,498 |
| Level 2 Upper GI Procedures | 20 | $14,832 | $1,758 |
| Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 18 | $54,471 | $6,025 |
| Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services | 17 | $63,209 | $5,332 |
| Level 2 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 15 | $28,817 | $1,412 |
Against the South Carolina average
For Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC (DRG 871), Colleton Medical Center charged $69,596 on average, 9% less than the South Carolina average of $76,532, and was paid $16,381 against a state average of $16,014. For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), Colleton Medical Center charged $49,786 on average, 9% more than the South Carolina average of $45,682, and was paid $10,672 against a state average of $10,696. For Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC (DRG 177), Colleton Medical Center charged $67,138 on average, 8% more than the South Carolina average of $62,241, and was paid $13,721 against a state average of $13,455. For Renal Failure with MCC (DRG 682), Colleton Medical Center charged $43,745 on average, 19% less than the South Carolina average of $53,938, and was paid $12,253 against a state average of $12,210. For Comprehensive Observation Services (outpatient APC 8011), its average charge of $27,725 was 34% above the state average of $20,764. For Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5113), its average charge of $23,086 was 12% below the state average of $26,235. For Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage (outpatient APC 5072), its average charge of $9,054 was 23% below the state average of $11,718. For Level 2 Upper GI Procedures (outpatient APC 5302), its average charge of $14,832 was 6% above the state average of $14,055.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named Colleton Medical Center in Walterboro, SC, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- Warning Notice — 2023-07-12 (CMS case 1283)
- Closure Notice — 2023-11-01 (CMS case 1283)
- Met Requirements — 2025-04-03 (CMS case 3555)
- Met Requirements — 2025-05-08 (CMS case 4358)
A warning notice or corrective-action request is not a finding of wrongdoing; "Met Requirements" and closure notices record that CMS's review ended. Matched to this hospital by exact name, city and state.
Charges are the hospital's list prices averaged over its 2024 Medicare cases; payments are what those cases actually brought in. Neither is what you will pay. For a planned procedure, ask the hospital for its price estimate or, if you are uninsured or self-paying, a good-faith estimate.
Sources: CMS Medicare Inpatient Hospitals — by Provider and Service / by Geography and Service, data year 2024; CMS Medicare Outpatient Hospitals — by Provider and Service / by Geography and Service, data year 2024; CMS Hospital Price Transparency Enforcement Activities and Outcomes, July 2026. Checked 2026-10-24. Methodology.