Total hip replacement cost in HI
What a total hip replacement costs at HI hospitals — and the fair price to aim for.
Typical commercial prices here are +9% above the fair benchmark (1.09×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Loss-Leader / Captive Ancillary Cross-Subsidizer
Wilcox Memorial Hospital prices routine shoppable procedures near 1.3× Medicare (p50 1.32×) while skewing captive emergency, lab, and upper-quartile codes to 1.4× Medicare (p75 1.95×, +48% upper-tail jump). Patients scheduling elective outpatient care can capture competitive rates, but emergency and ancillary bills require strict line-item auditing.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.98× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 35% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- 2-Star CMS clinical rating with 69% patient recommendation (74/100 safety score)
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (27.7% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.6× markup over Medicare rates
- Captive ER (1.2×) & laboratory (0.8×) services average 1.08× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (1.3×)
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.95×) jump +48% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 1.32×)
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 6,208) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
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.
In general, HI hospitals charge about the fair price for this. how we calculate the BaseRate →
Compared with the rest of the country, HI’s fair BaseRate ($13,761) is about the same as the national fair price of $13,192.
Cheapest HI hospitals for a total hip replacement
- Wilcox Memorial Hospital · Lihue $5,622
- Pali Momi Medical Center · Aiea $6,064
- Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children · Honolulu $6,064
- Straub Clinic and Hospital · Honolulu $12,609
- Kohala Hospital · Kapaau $14,613
- The Queens Medical Center · Honolulu $15,093
- Kuakini Medical Center · Honolulu $15,252
- North Hawaii Community Hospital, Inc · Kamuela $16,164
- Kona Community Hospital · Kealakekua $16,475
Audit a Bill or Quote at HI Hospital Benchmark (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $12,731
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (36.3% of gross = $12,731).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Ask HI Hospital Benchmark's billing desk for their written 45 CFR § 180 discounted self-pay cash price and Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act.
Negotiate Toward $13,761 Fair BaseRate ($7,981 Medicare)
Your bill ($35,071) is $21,310 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($13,761) and 4.4× the $7,981 Medicare rate.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
Inpatient MS-DRG vs. Outpatient CPT Care-Setting Savings
Clinical Scope Note:Inpatient MS-DRG reflects a multi-day hospital admission (room, nursing, higher clinical acuity); outpatient CPT reflects the outpatient facility fee for clinically eligible low-acuity patients and excludes separate surgeon and anesthesia professional fees.