Texas / HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center
CMS certification 450659 · Houston, TX · 3 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center: charges and Medicare payments
HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center reported 410 Medicare inpatient stays across 18 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 12.97 times what it was paid — among the higher ratios in Texas, number 8 of 190 hospitals with at least 100 stays (state median 5.35×, national 4.15×). Its most frequent stay was DRG 267, Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures without MCC: 61 stays at an average charge of $363,851, 64% above the national average. It also billed 592 outpatient services, charging 20.89 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 410
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 12.97×
- 3Rank in TX (highest ratio = 1) 8 of 190
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 3
Inpatient stays
For the 18 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center charged more than the national average in 18 (100%). Payments follow Medicare's rates, so they usually vary far less than charges.
| DRG | Stays | Avg charge | vs US | Avg paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 267 Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement... | 61 | $363,851 | +64% | $39,597 |
| 266 Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement... | 52 | $536,250 | +88% | $49,054 |
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 35 | $152,753 | +171% | $17,328 |
| 274 Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures without MCC | 29 | $458,804 | +193% | $25,352 |
| 330 Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with CC | 27 | $330,482 | +178% | $18,965 |
| 329 Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with MCC | 22 | $527,262 | +145% | $37,497 |
| 871 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC | 21 | $185,750 | +106% | $15,079 |
| 273 Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures with MCC | 20 | $703,218 | +228% | $36,046 |
| 270 Other Major Cardiovascular Procedures with MCC | 18 | $713,397 | +175% | $55,699 |
| 216 Cardiac Valve and Other Major Cardiothoracic Procedures with... | 17 | $1,047,827 | +113% | $81,566 |
| 219 Cardiac Valve and Other Major Cardiothoracic Procedures... | 15 | $1,181,150 | +196% | $75,745 |
| 683 Renal Failure with CC | 15 | $111,848 | +175% | $7,434 |
| 003 ECMO or Tracheostomy with MV >96 Hours or Principal... | 14 | $2,406,039 | +128% | $166,850 |
| 640 Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and... | 14 | $103,452 | +72% | $10,644 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 13 | $180,658 | +156% | $13,091 |
| 682 Renal Failure with MCC | 13 | $97,545 | +48% | $11,831 |
| 392 Esophagitis, Gastroenteritis and Miscellaneous Digestive... | 12 | $80,637 | +101% | $6,770 |
| 394 Other Digestive System Diagnoses with CC | 12 | $124,034 | +164% | $8,022 |
Outpatient services
Against the Texas average
For Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures without MCC (DRG 267), HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center charged $363,851 on average, 30% more than the Texas average of $279,675, and was paid $39,597 against a state average of $39,524. For Endovascular Cardiac Valve Replacement and Supplement Procedures with MCC (DRG 266), HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center charged $536,250 on average, 44% more than the Texas average of $372,420, and was paid $49,054 against a state average of $49,901. For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center charged $152,753 on average, 125% more than the Texas average of $67,944, and was paid $17,328 against a state average of $11,820. For Percutaneous and Other Intracardiac Procedures without MCC (DRG 274), HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center charged $458,804 on average, 93% more than the Texas average of $237,571, and was paid $25,352 against a state average of $25,777. For Level 3 Electrophysiologic Procedures (outpatient APC 5213), its average charge of $510,260 was 130% above the state average of $221,522. For Level 8 Urology and Related Services (outpatient APC 5378), its average charge of $260,868 was 95% above the state average of $134,044. For Level 1 Endovascular Procedures (outpatient APC 5191), its average charge of $66,907 was 85% above the state average of $36,220. For Level 2 Pacemaker and Similar Procedures (outpatient APC 5222), its average charge of $109,313 was 75% above the state average of $62,346.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center in Houston, TX, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- Warning Notice — 2023-06-26 (CMS case 733)
- Closure Notice — 2023-10-03 (CMS case 733)
- Met Requirements — 2025-05-07 (CMS case 4372)
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.