South Carolina / East Cooper Medical Center
CMS certification 420089 · Mount Pleasant, SC · 3 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
East Cooper Medical Center: charges and Medicare payments
East Cooper Medical Center reported 481 Medicare inpatient stays across 23 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 9.43 times what it was paid — among the higher ratios in South Carolina, number 3 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: 59 stays at an average charge of $100,558, 11% above the national average. It also billed 1,298 outpatient services, charging 13.23 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 481
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 9.43×
- 3Rank in SC (highest ratio = 1) 3 of 45
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 3
Inpatient stays
For the 23 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, East Cooper Medical Center charged more than the national average in 21 (91%). 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 | 59 | $100,558 | +11% | $11,514 |
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 34 | $62,116 | +10% | $8,126 |
| 460 Spinal Fusion except Cervical without MCC | 33 | $312,162 | +83% | $28,378 |
| 455 Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion without CC/MCC | 31 | $403,189 | +99% | $39,670 |
| 454 Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion with CC | 28 | $459,877 | +64% | $45,782 |
| 552 Medical Back Problems without MCC | 25 | $50,279 | +3% | $6,494 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 23 | $97,980 | +39% | $9,757 |
| 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC | 22 | $70,900 | +19% | $8,287 |
| 467 Revision of Hip or Knee Replacement with CC | 22 | $194,552 | +23% | $27,183 |
| 470 Major Hip and Knee Joint Replacement or Reattachment of... | 22 | $123,583 | +33% | $11,697 |
| 689 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections with MCC | 21 | $67,922 | +32% | $7,339 |
| 690 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections without MCC | 19 | $50,892 | +35% | $4,481 |
| 468 Revision of Hip or Knee Replacement without CC/MCC | 17 | $121,364 | -2% | $16,742 |
| 489 Knee Procedures without Principal Diagnosis of Infection... | 17 | $81,314 | +33% | $8,182 |
| 392 Esophagitis, Gastroenteritis and Miscellaneous Digestive... | 14 | $48,365 | +20% | $5,108 |
| 522 Hip Replacement with Principal Diagnosis of Hip Fracture... | 14 | $123,333 | +21% | $13,100 |
| 472 Cervical Spinal Fusion with CC | 13 | $259,398 | +81% | $22,725 |
| 682 Renal Failure with MCC | 12 | $77,243 | +17% | $9,256 |
| 280 Acute Myocardial Infarction, Discharged Alive with MCC | 11 | $77,046 | +2% | $10,165 |
| 377 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with MCC | 11 | $102,405 | +20% | $11,817 |
| 378 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with CC | 11 | $71,037 | +46% | $6,758 |
| 683 Renal Failure with CC | 11 | $48,124 | +18% | $4,763 |
| 853 Infectious and Parasitic Diseases with O.R. Procedures with... | 11 | $229,281 | 0% | $30,948 |
Outpatient services
Against the South Carolina average
For Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC (DRG 871), East Cooper Medical Center charged $100,558 on average, 31% more than the South Carolina average of $76,532, and was paid $11,514 against a state average of $16,014. For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), East Cooper Medical Center charged $62,116 on average, 36% more than the South Carolina average of $45,682, and was paid $8,126 against a state average of $10,696. For Spinal Fusion except Cervical without MCC (DRG 460), East Cooper Medical Center charged $312,162 on average, 67% more than the South Carolina average of $187,031, and was paid $28,378 against a state average of $30,705. For Combined Anterior and Posterior Spinal Fusion without CC/MCC (DRG 455), East Cooper Medical Center charged $403,189 on average, 80% more than the South Carolina average of $224,113, and was paid $39,670 against a state average of $37,531. For Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5115), its average charge of $109,880 was 37% above the state average of $80,461. For Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5114), its average charge of $60,383 was 18% above the state average of $51,243. For Comprehensive Observation Services (outpatient APC 8011), its average charge of $29,004 was 40% above the state average of $20,764. For Level 6 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5116), its average charge of $224,304 was 100% above the state average of $112,181.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, SC, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- CAP Request — 2024-08-20 (CMS case 2535)
- Closure Notice — 2024-10-11 (CMS case 2535)
- Met Requirements — 2025-08-14 (CMS case 6273)
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.