Texas / Harlingen Medical Center
CMS certification 450855 · Harlingen, TX · 4 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
Harlingen Medical Center: charges and Medicare payments
Harlingen Medical Center reported 460 Medicare inpatient stays across 16 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 5.88 times what it was paid — mid-range in Texas, number 84 of 190 hospitals with at least 100 stays (state median 5.35×, national 4.15×). Its most frequent stay was DRG 871, Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC: 156 stays at an average charge of $82,940, 8% below the national average. It also billed 314 outpatient services, charging 12.04 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 460
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 5.88×
- 3Rank in TX (highest ratio = 1) 84 of 190
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 4
Inpatient stays
For the 16 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, Harlingen Medical Center charged more than the national average in 4 (25%). 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 | 156 | $82,940 | -8% | $14,047 |
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 47 | $49,097 | -13% | $9,761 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 36 | $80,944 | +15% | $12,408 |
| 853 Infectious and Parasitic Diseases with O.R. Procedures with... | 31 | $182,336 | -20% | $32,594 |
| 392 Esophagitis, Gastroenteritis and Miscellaneous Digestive... | 22 | $34,312 | -15% | $6,398 |
| 470 Major Hip and Knee Joint Replacement or Reattachment of... | 22 | $100,831 | +8% | $13,739 |
| 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC | 21 | $75,140 | +26% | $9,793 |
| 872 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without MCC | 18 | $47,486 | -3% | $8,036 |
| 377 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with MCC | 16 | $65,782 | -23% | $13,029 |
| 280 Acute Myocardial Infarction, Discharged Alive with MCC | 15 | $53,773 | -29% | $11,788 |
| 308 Cardiac Arrhythmia and Conduction Disorders with MCC | 14 | $32,383 | -43% | $9,046 |
| 640 Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and... | 14 | $41,368 | -31% | $9,647 |
| 689 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections with MCC | 13 | $46,689 | -9% | $8,768 |
| 690 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections without MCC | 13 | $26,253 | -31% | $6,543 |
| 321 Percutaneous Cardiovascular Procedures with Intraluminal... | 11 | $192,847 | +18% | $20,935 |
| 378 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with CC | 11 | $43,897 | -10% | $7,886 |
Outpatient services
| Service (APC) | Services | Avg charge | Medicare allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Endovascular Procedures | 78 | $32,186 | $2,832 |
| Level 2 Upper GI Procedures | 33 | $19,994 | $1,651 |
| Comprehensive Observation Services | 32 | $27,191 | $2,375 |
| Level 3 Endovascular Procedures | 31 | $138,484 | $9,539 |
| Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 28 | $101,777 | $11,406 |
| Level 1 Laparoscopy and Related Services | 26 | $39,959 | $5,007 |
| Level 4 Urology and Related Services | 16 | $27,468 | $3,025 |
| Level 3 Urology and Related Services | 15 | $24,275 | $1,767 |
| Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures | 14 | $193,741 | $20,557 |
| Level 3 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures | 14 | $109,316 | $9,260 |
| Level 5 Urology and Related Services | 14 | $43,455 | $4,490 |
| Level 2 ICD and Similar Procedures | 13 | $212,772 | $28,463 |
Against the Texas average
For Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC (DRG 871), Harlingen Medical Center charged $82,940 on average, 25% less than the Texas average of $111,133, and was paid $14,047 against a state average of $16,694. For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), Harlingen Medical Center charged $49,097 on average, 28% less than the Texas average of $67,944, and was paid $9,761 against a state average of $11,820. For Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC (DRG 177), Harlingen Medical Center charged $80,944 on average, 1% less than the Texas average of $81,715, and was paid $12,408 against a state average of $13,815. For Infectious and Parasitic Diseases with O.R. Procedures with MCC (DRG 853), Harlingen Medical Center charged $182,336 on average, 36% less than the Texas average of $283,065, and was paid $32,594 against a state average of $41,195. For Level 1 Endovascular Procedures (outpatient APC 5191), its average charge of $32,186 was 11% below the state average of $36,220. For Level 2 Upper GI Procedures (outpatient APC 5302), its average charge of $19,994 was 23% above the state average of $16,236. For Comprehensive Observation Services (outpatient APC 8011), its average charge of $27,191 was 3% below the state average of $27,955. For Level 3 Endovascular Procedures (outpatient APC 5193), its average charge of $138,484 was 48% above the state average of $93,719.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named Harlingen Medical Center in Harlingen, TX, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- Warning Notice — 2024-02-02 (CMS case 1876)
- Closure Notice — 2024-05-13 (CMS case 1876)
- Warning Notice — 2025-07-21 (CMS case 5903)
- Closure Notice — 2025-08-28 (CMS case 5903)
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.