Comprehensive Observation Services
In 2024, Medicare and patients paid an average of $2,634 per procedure at 2,753 hospitals. Half of hospitals averaged between $2,362 and $2,697.
Also known as: Observation stay
National figures, 2024
- Average payment per case
- $2,634
- Typical range (middle half of hospitals)
- $2,362–$2,697
- Medicare’s share
- $2,090
- Average billed charge
- $24,060
- Hospitals reporting
- 2,753
Hospitals in Tennessee
Narrow by a state, city or ZIP code (optionally a distance around it), and/or pick specific hospitals. With both, your picks are added to the area’s hospitals.
- Average payment across these 73 hospitals
- $2,299
- Median hospital
- $2,276
- Lowest to highest
- $2,091–$2,505
- Medicare procedures
- 16,493
73 hospitals reported at least 11 Medicare procedures for this in 2024; showing 51–73. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliate Of Vitruvian Health | 116 | $2,333 | 11% below the national average | $1,853 | $35,574 |
| Tristar Northcrest Medical Center | 151 | $2,333 | 11% below the national average | $1,854 | $29,672 |
| Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital | 422 | $2,333 | 11% below the national average | $1,856 | $23,912 |
| Saint Thomas River Park Hospital | 236 | $2,336 | 11% below the national average | $1,859 | $16,208 |
| Tristar Skyline Medical Center | 180 | $2,337 | 11% below the national average | $1,857 | $45,236 |
| Lafollette Medical Center | 24 | $2,337 | 11% below the national average | $1,846 | $20,109 |
| Highpoint Health-Sumner With Ascension Saint Thoma | 98 | $2,339 | 11% below the national average | $1,860 | $29,719 |
| Dekalb Community Hospital | 53 | $2,339 | 11% below the national average | $1,860 | $12,696 |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital | 511 | $2,340 | 11% below the national average | $1,860 | $13,788 |
| Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Winchest | 103 | $2,340 | 11% below the national average | $1,860 | $29,411 |
| Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital | 677 | $2,341 | 11% below the national average | $1,860 | $14,447 |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital | 551 | $2,341 | 11% below the national average | $1,862 | $23,276 |
| Livingston Regional Hospital | 55 | $2,344 | 11% below the national average | $1,868 | $28,494 |
| Saint Thomas Highlands Hospital | 85 | $2,344 | 11% below the national average | $1,868 | $13,101 |
| Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Pulaski | 57 | $2,345 | 11% below the national average | $1,861 | $42,175 |
| Cumberland Medical Center | 114 | $2,350 | 11% below the national average | $1,857 | $9,440 |
| Williamson Medical Center | 653 | $2,355 | 11% below the national average | $1,876 | $13,228 |
| Metro Nashville General Hospital | 59 | $2,358 | 10% below the national average | $1,875 | $14,057 |
| Tristar Southern Hills Medical Center | 72 | $2,358 | 10% below the national average | $1,875 | $31,715 |
| Dyersburg Regional Medical Center | 69 | $2,362 | 10% below the national average | $1,870 | $15,987 |
| Jackson-Madison County General Hospital | 813 | $2,422 | About average | $1,922 | $15,524 |
| Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital | 296 | $2,474 | About average | $1,960 | $28,727 |
| Cookeville Regional Medical Center | 775 | $2,505 | About average | $1,993 | $15,951 |
National trend
Average payment and billed charge per procedure, and how many Medicare procedures were reported each year.
- Average payment
- Average billed charge
View data as a table
| Year of care | Average payment | Average billed charge |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2,173 | $19K |
| 2021 | $2,303 | $20K |
| 2022 | $2,330 | $22K |
| 2023 | $2,422 | $23K |
| 2024 | $2,634 | $24K |
By state, 2024
Case-weighted average payment across each state’s reporting hospitals, lowest first.
Show all 50 states
| State | Hospitals | Cases | Average payment | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 5 | 1,308 | $1,285 | $1,180–$1,485 |
| Alabama | 73 | 8,112 | $2,241 | $2,169–$2,264 |
| Mississippi | 52 | 11,311 | $2,278 | $2,235–$2,347 |
| West Virginia | 22 | 5,181 | $2,285 | $2,226–$2,367 |
| Louisiana | 64 | 14,412 | $2,288 | $2,259–$2,300 |
| Tennessee | 73 | 16,493 | $2,299 | $2,237–$2,337 |
| Ohio | 110 | 31,616 | $2,317 | $2,300–$2,380 |
| Oklahoma | 61 | 11,406 | $2,348 | $2,322–$2,440 |
| Arkansas | 40 | 11,142 | $2,356 | $2,302–$2,439 |
| Kentucky | 61 | 15,821 | $2,359 | $2,296–$2,442 |
| South Carolina | 50 | 15,082 | $2,368 | $2,308–$2,382 |
| Kansas | 33 | 7,920 | $2,377 | $2,321–$2,503 |
| Iowa | 31 | 7,279 | $2,385 | $2,330–$2,467 |
| Missouri | 63 | 15,191 | $2,393 | $2,335–$2,465 |
| Michigan | 81 | 23,451 | $2,410 | $2,364–$2,467 |
| Georgia | 92 | 21,579 | $2,422 | $2,298–$2,481 |
| North Carolina | 78 | 21,007 | $2,426 | $2,380–$2,450 |
| Texas | 233 | 58,602 | $2,445 | $2,375–$2,511 |
| Nebraska | 19 | 3,391 | $2,450 | $2,431–$2,480 |
| Florida | 166 | 77,597 | $2,457 | $2,443–$2,471 |
| Maine | 17 | 2,448 | $2,457 | $2,370–$2,519 |
| Virginia | 69 | 26,889 | $2,459 | $2,332–$2,524 |
| Indiana | 73 | 18,659 | $2,464 | $2,412–$2,485 |
| New Mexico | 22 | 4,083 | $2,469 | $2,369–$2,549 |
| Utah | 31 | 3,560 | $2,478 | $2,429–$2,452 |
| Wisconsin | 61 | 10,886 | $2,497 | $2,447–$2,538 |
| Idaho | 12 | 2,397 | $2,548 | $2,440–$2,614 |
| Pennsylvania | 122 | 33,705 | $2,553 | $2,415–$2,601 |
| Illinois | 113 | 39,922 | $2,573 | $2,522–$2,604 |
| North Dakota | 6 | 2,780 | $2,590 | $2,532–$2,653 |
| Montana | 10 | 3,213 | $2,595 | $2,543–$2,721 |
| Colorado | 48 | 13,460 | $2,608 | $2,586–$2,606 |
| Minnesota | 45 | 11,221 | $2,627 | $2,574–$2,716 |
| New Hampshire | 13 | 5,226 | $2,637 | $2,593–$2,699 |
| South Dakota | 11 | 2,485 | $2,638 | $2,559–$2,731 |
| Arizona | 54 | 22,819 | $2,686 | $2,639–$2,669 |
| Delaware | 6 | 4,912 | $2,718 | $2,698–$2,727 |
| Wyoming | 9 | 1,733 | $2,722 | $2,695–$2,745 |
| Rhode Island | 9 | 2,010 | $2,752 | $2,748–$2,778 |
| District of Columbia | 6 | 1,453 | $2,758 | $2,739–$2,795 |
| Washington | 45 | 8,931 | $2,802 | $2,728–$2,893 |
| New Jersey | 59 | 36,741 | $2,897 | $2,835–$3,029 |
| Nevada | 21 | 7,349 | $2,900 | $2,857–$2,915 |
| Oregon | 32 | 5,804 | $2,901 | $2,821–$2,873 |
| Massachusetts | 51 | 32,481 | $2,920 | $2,905–$2,928 |
| Alaska | 6 | 1,743 | $2,936 | $2,857–$2,998 |
| New York | 115 | 38,093 | $2,983 | $2,877–$3,083 |
| Connecticut | 26 | 15,665 | $3,045 | $3,022–$3,054 |
| Hawaii | 12 | 1,584 | $3,127 | $3,076–$3,276 |
| California | 242 | 75,162 | $3,471 | $3,347–$3,602 |
About these numbers
Average payment is what Medicare paid plus the patient’s deductible and coinsurance (and any other insurer), averaged over the hospital’s Medicare cases. It covers the hospital’s part of the care; doctors bill separately. For outpatient procedures it is Medicare’s allowed amount, which leaves out extra “outlier” payments for unusually costly cases; those are shown under the hospital name where CMS reported any, and included in the CSV. Billed charges are the hospital’s list prices, which few patients pay.
Medicare sets its payments by formula, adjusting for local wages, teaching programs, the share of low-income patients and unusually costly cases. Those adjustments drive most differences between hospitals, so a lower payment doesn’t mean better or worse care, and Medicare patients’ own costs usually vary much less than the totals. Private insurance pays different, usually higher, prices.
Source: CMS Medicare Outpatient Hospitals by Provider and Service (Medicare fee-for-service claims). CMS omits hospitals with fewer than 11 procedures. More in the glossary.