The Children's Hospital of Alabama
1600 Seventh Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233 · 93 Priced Procedures
Typical commercial prices here are +201% above the fair benchmark (3.01×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Wide Procedure Spread · Upper-Quartile Skew Pricer
The Children's Hospital of Alabama prices routine shoppable procedures at 5.0× Medicare (median 3.06× Fair BaseRate) while upper-quartile commercial rates jump +64% to 5.02× Fair BaseRate. Self-pay cash discounts and comparing specific CPT procedure codes before scheduling yield the strongest savings.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 1.88× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 98% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (54/100 safety score) with 72% patient recommendation
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (78.2% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.5× markup over Medicare rates
- Commercial insurance median sits at 3.06× Fair BaseRate (5.0× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 5.02×) jump +64% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 3.06×)
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 7.1× Medicare (30¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
Procedure Prices at The Children's Hospital of Alabama
High-impact clinical procedures (MRIs, surgeries, inpatient stays, visits) are prioritized first. Use the category pills or search bar to filter all 93 published procedures.
| Procedure & Billing Code | This Hospital | vs. Fair |
|---|---|---|
| Bunion correction surgery CPT Code: 28296 | $7,542 | 2.2× |
| Cataract surgery with lens implant CPT Code: 66984 | $6,360 | 2.5× |
| Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair CPT Code: 29881 | $5,528 | 1.6× |
| Upper endoscopy with biopsy CPT Code: 43239 | $4,681 | unverified |
| Sleep study (overnight, in lab) CPT Code: 95810 | $3,729 | unverified |
| MRI, brain (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70553 | $3,640 | 7.1× |
| Inguinal hernia repair CPT Code: 49505 | $3,665 | 1.0× |
| Breast lump removal CPT Code: 19120 | $3,274 | 0.8× |
| Blood transfusion CPT Code: 36430 | $2,253 | 4.5× |
| Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) CPT Code: 93306 | $2,271 | 3.9× |
| MRI, lower back (no contrast) CPT Code: 72148 | $2,077 | 6.1× |
| MRI, brain (no contrast) CPT Code: 70551 | $2,077 | 6.1× |
| MRI, knee or other leg joint CPT Code: 73721 | $2,077 | 5.6× |
| Rabies immune globulin HCPCS Code: 90375 | $1,756 | unverified |
| CT scan, head (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70470 | $1,108 | 4.3× |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (no contrast) CPT Code: 74176 | $1,108 | 3.7× |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (with contrast) CPT Code: 74177 | $1,108 | 2.5× |
| CT scan, head (no contrast) CPT Code: 70450 | $1,108 | unverified |
| CT scan, head (with contrast) CPT Code: 70460 | $1,108 | unverified |
| CT scan, pelvis CPT Code: 72192 | $951 | 5.8× |
| CT scan, sinuses CPT Code: 70486 | $951 | 5.7× |
| CT scan, chest (no contrast) CPT Code: 71250 | $951 | 5.7× |
| CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) CPT Code: 72131 | $951 | 5.7× |
| CT scan, neck (cervical spine) CPT Code: 72125 | $951 | 5.6× |
| Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex) CPT Code: 93970 | $822 | 3.0× |
Audit a Bill or Quote at The Children's Hospital of Alabama (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $13,713
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (78.2% of gross = $13,713).
Self-Pay Cash Rate ($7,542) Beats Your Bill
The Children's Hospital of Alabama's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $7,542 (vs. $7,542 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $3,446 Fair BaseRate ($3,343 Medicare)
Your bill ($17,540) is $14,094 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($3,446) and 5.2× the $3,343 Medicare rate.
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) & Amounts Generally Billed (AGB)
Hospital-Specific CMS HCRIS Benchmark (78.2% of gross charges)
Under 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5), a tax-exempt hospital organization may not bill FAP-eligible patients more than Amounts Generally Billed (AGB) to individuals with insurance covering emergency or medically necessary care. Derived from this facility’s reported CMS HCRIS cost-to-charge & insurer allowance filings. Verify your exact Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) determination directly with the billing office.
Clinical Quality, Patient Experience & Infection Benchmarks
CMS Price Transparency Administrative Enforcement Log
Factual public administrative actions published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding 45 CFR § 180 compliance at The Children's Hospital of Alabama. Prior administrative notices do not necessarily reflect current compliance status.
- 2025-04-16·administrative_or_closure
Closure Notice
Recorded - 2025-01-16·cap_corrective_action
CAP Request
Recorded - 2024-10-10·warning_notice
Warning Notice
Recorded
Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare. Clinical quality metrics summarize historical facility-wide cohorts and are not medical advice for individual care decisions.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
2D regional comparison of commercial negotiated price index against CMS clinical quality composite for The Children's Hospital of Alabama.
Verify the Raw Data: Official Hospital MRF, CMS Medicare.gov & Federal Filings
Safe-Harbor Data Corrections: Parsed directly from public 45 CFR § 180 hospital filings, CMS Care Compare, and CMS HCRIS cost reports. Hospital compliance officers may submit updated MRF URLs or rate tables for verification.