Texas / Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville
CMS certification 450028 · Brownsville, TX · 3 entries in CMS's price-transparency list
Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville: charges and Medicare payments
Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville reported 498 Medicare inpatient stays across 16 DRGs in 2024. Across them it charged 13.34 times what it was paid — among the higher ratios in Texas, number 4 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: 166 stays at an average charge of $204,630, 127% above the national average. It also billed 254 outpatient services, charging 20.44 times what Medicare paid.
- 1Medicare inpatient stays 498
- 2Charge ÷ paid, inpatient 13.34×
- 3Rank in TX (highest ratio = 1) 4 of 190
- 4CMS price-transparency actions 3
Inpatient stays
For the 16 DRGs that can be compared with the national average, Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville charged more than the national average in 16 (100%). 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 | 166 | $204,630 | +127% | $15,322 |
| 291 Heart Failure and Shock with MCC | 53 | $135,163 | +140% | $10,723 |
| 698 Other Kidney and Urinary Tract Diagnoses with MCC | 35 | $204,367 | +178% | $13,758 |
| 872 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without MCC | 34 | $117,930 | +140% | $9,134 |
| 377 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with MCC | 22 | $241,807 | +183% | $14,485 |
| 640 Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and... | 21 | $105,355 | +75% | $10,922 |
| 193 Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy with MCC | 19 | $182,287 | +205% | $11,370 |
| 280 Acute Myocardial Infarction, Discharged Alive with MCC | 19 | $146,418 | +93% | $13,164 |
| 690 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections without MCC | 19 | $91,057 | +141% | $7,612 |
| 870 Septicemia or Severe Sepsis with MV >96 Hours | 19 | $697,970 | +116% | $45,782 |
| 177 Respiratory Infections and Inflammations with MCC | 18 | $127,670 | +81% | $13,272 |
| 853 Infectious and Parasitic Diseases with O.R. Procedures with... | 18 | $439,675 | +92% | $34,913 |
| 314 Other Circulatory System Diagnoses with MCC | 16 | $216,160 | +128% | $16,295 |
| 682 Renal Failure with MCC | 14 | $167,218 | +154% | $13,044 |
| 689 Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections with MCC | 14 | $106,421 | +107% | $10,180 |
| 393 Other Digestive System Diagnoses with MCC | 11 | $174,530 | +127% | $13,380 |
Outpatient services
| Service (APC) | Services | Avg charge | Medicare allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Intraocular Procedures | 63 | $42,550 | $1,920 |
| Comprehensive Observation Services | 58 | $46,053 | $2,302 |
| Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 24 | $95,803 | $6,208 |
| Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 24 | $143,448 | $10,999 |
| Level 3 Vascular Procedures | 21 | $40,387 | $2,766 |
| Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage | 19 | $19,396 | $1,407 |
| Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures | 18 | $68,082 | $2,809 |
| Level 1 Endovascular Procedures | 15 | $53,832 | $2,832 |
| Level 3 Endovascular Procedures | 12 | $125,357 | $9,539 |
Against the Texas average
For Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours with MCC (DRG 871), Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville charged $204,630 on average, 84% more than the Texas average of $111,133, and was paid $15,322 against a state average of $16,694. For Heart Failure and Shock with MCC (DRG 291), Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville charged $135,163 on average, 99% more than the Texas average of $67,944, and was paid $10,723 against a state average of $11,820. For Other Kidney and Urinary Tract Diagnoses with MCC (DRG 698), Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville charged $204,367 on average, 135% more than the Texas average of $86,874, and was paid $13,758 against a state average of $14,523. For Septicemia or Severe Sepsis without MV >96 Hours without MCC (DRG 872), Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville charged $117,930 on average, 102% more than the Texas average of $58,253, and was paid $9,134 against a state average of $10,103. For Level 1 Intraocular Procedures (outpatient APC 5491), its average charge of $42,550 was 159% above the state average of $16,442. For Comprehensive Observation Services (outpatient APC 8011), its average charge of $46,053 was 65% above the state average of $27,955. For Level 4 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5114), its average charge of $95,803 was 63% above the state average of $58,833. For Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures (outpatient APC 5115), its average charge of $143,448 was 45% above the state average of $98,771.
Price-transparency record
CMS's enforcement list records these actions for a hospital named Valley Baptist Medical Center- Brownsville in Brownsville, TX, under the federal hospital price-transparency rule (45 CFR part 180), which requires hospitals to post their standard charges online:
- Warning Notice — 2024-11-18 (CMS case 2936)
- CAP Request — 2025-02-21 (CMS case 2936)
- Closure Notice — 2025-04-08 (CMS case 2936)
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.