Georgia / Union General Hospital
CMS certification 110051 · Blairsville, GA · 3 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
Union General Hospital: charges and Medicare payments
Union General Hospital reported 608 Medicare inpatient stays across 25 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 2.78 times what it was paid — among the lower ratios in Georgia, number 67 of 74 hospitals with at least 100 stays (state median 4.44×, national 4.15×). Its most frequent stay was DRG 291, Heart Failure and Shock with MCC: 75 stays at an average charge of $18,155, 68% below the national average. It also billed 1,372 outpatient services, charging 4.49 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 608
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 2.78×
- 3Rank in GA (highest ratio = 1) 67 of 74
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 3
Inpatient stays
For the 25 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, Union General Hospital charged more than the national average in 0 (0%). Payments follow Medicare's rates, so they usually vary far less than charges.
| DRG | Stays | Avg charge | vs US | Avg paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 75 | $18,155 | -68% | $9,344 |
| 194 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with CC | 56 | $20,626 | -46% | $6,492 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 42 | $38,652 | -45% | $12,000 |
| 690 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections without MCC | 42 | $14,683 | -61% | $6,115 |
| 392 Esophagitis, Gastroenteritis and Miscellaneous Digestive... | 35 | $13,779 | -66% | $6,070 |
| 641 Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and... | 31 | $18,438 | -50% | $6,223 |
| 522 Hip Replacement with Principal Diagnosis of Hip Fracture... | 30 | $45,288 | -56% | $14,978 |
| 191 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with CC | 26 | $17,044 | -57% | $6,339 |
| 190 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with MCC | 23 | $28,286 | -44% | $8,892 |
| 178 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with CC | 22 | $27,883 | -38% | $7,357 |
| 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC | 22 | $27,518 | -54% | $9,538 |
| 470 Major Hip and Knee Joint Replacement or Reattachment of... | 21 | $44,410 | -52% | $13,488 |
| 481 Hip and Femur Procedures except Major Joint with CC | 20 | $47,139 | -53% | $14,764 |
| 309 Cardiac Arrhythmia and Conduction Disorders with CC | 17 | $15,269 | -58% | $5,718 |
| 683 Renal Failure with CC | 17 | $14,650 | -64% | $6,687 |
| 871 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC | 17 | $39,099 | -57% | $13,877 |
| 195 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy without CC/MCC | 15 | $16,039 | -47% | $4,812 |
| 310 Cardiac Arrhythmia and Conduction Disorders without CC/MCC | 14 | $11,892 | -59% | $4,428 |
| 308 Cardiac Arrhythmia and Conduction Disorders with MCC | 13 | $17,412 | -69% | $8,682 |
| 378 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with CC | 13 | $16,478 | -66% | $7,238 |
| 389 Gastrointestinal Obstruction with CC | 12 | $9,818 | -75% | $5,880 |
| 872 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without MCC | 12 | $18,786 | -62% | $7,536 |
| 189 Pulmonary Edema and Respiratory Failure | 11 | $31,656 | -45% | $9,058 |
| 603 Cellulitis without MCC | 11 | $14,662 | -61% | $6,506 |
| 948 Signs and Symptoms without MCC | 11 | $17,598 | -54% | $6,047 |
Outpatient services
Against the Georgia average
For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), Union General Hospital charged $18,155 on average, 66% less than the Georgia average of $52,781, and was paid $9,344 against a state average of $12,005. For Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with CC (DRG 194), Union General Hospital charged $20,626 on average, 43% less than the Georgia average of $35,914, and was paid $6,492 against a state average of $8,374. For Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC (DRG 177), Union General Hospital charged $38,652 on average, 41% less than the Georgia average of $66,006, and was paid $12,000 against a state average of $14,774. For Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections without MCC (DRG 690), Union General Hospital charged $14,683 on average, 55% less than the Georgia average of $32,908, and was paid $6,115 against a state average of $8,115. For Comprehensive Observation Services (outpatient APC 8011), its average charge of $10,404 was 50% below the state average of $20,900. For Level 1 Intraocular Procedures (outpatient APC 5491), its average charge of $10,605 was 41% below the state average of $18,060. For Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5115), its average charge of $38,214 was 53% below the state average of $81,545. For Level 2 Upper GI Procedures (outpatient APC 5302), its average charge of $3,502 was 77% below the state average of $14,925.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named Union General Hospital in Blairsville, GA, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- CAP Request — 2023-09-12 (CMS case 1114)
- Closure Notice — 2024-04-01 (CMS case 1114)
- Met Requirements — 2026-01-16 (CMS case 6818)
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.