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County Price & Affordability Audit 38 of 55 Hospitals Priced Pop. 5,185,812 $81,797 Median Income

Cook County, IL Hospital Rates

Compare hospital price transparency compliance, fair price benchmarks, and local household charity-care eligibility across all 55 mapped hospitals in Cook County.

Pillar 1 · The BaseRate™ CompositeHow 1.00× Fair BaseRate Works: Raw price averages unfairly penalize hospitals in high-wage cities or trauma centers treating sicker patients. We adjust for local CMS hospital wage levels and patient complexity first. A 1.00× score means right at the fair price average, 0.85× means 15% cheaper than fair market, and 1.30× means 30% above fair market.Above Fair Market · Negotiate
1.20×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price+20% Above Fair Price 1.00× (center of the bar) is the U.S. fair price average after accounting for local hospital wages and patient complexity. Left of center (<1.00×) is below fair price; right of center (>1.00×) is above fair price.

Typical commercial prices here are +20% above the fair benchmark (1.20×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.

Pillar 2 · VeriRate™ Data TrustHow VeriRate™ (0–100) Works: Hospitals are legally required to publish machine-readable price files, but some bury fake $0.01 numbers or omit cash discounts. VeriRate audits each file across 5 checks (hover any badge below to see what it tests).86/100 · Verified
86/100Hover Any Check Below to See How Prices Were Audited
File Completeness90Provenance (File Completeness): Checks whether the hospital published a complete, up-to-date machine-readable price file with valid CPT and MS-DRG billing codes instead of leaving blanks.
Price Logic88Coherence (Price Logic): Checks whether the hospital’s numbers make basic sense — e.g., self-pay cash price is lower than gross list price, with no fake $0.01 or $999,999 placeholder numbers.
Peer Alignment86Concordance (Peer Alignment): Checks whether reported prices sit in a realistic range compared to Medicare and nearby hospitals rather than wild 100× unit errors.
Clean Billing83Regularity (Clean Billing): Checks whether rates are structured consistently across procedures without erratic statistical spikes or hidden unbundled facility fees.
Real Cash Discount84Cash Honesty (Real Cash Discount): Checks whether the hospital offers a genuine self-pay cash discount that beats or matches commercial insurance rates instead of billing full sticker price.
Pillar 3 · Cook County Affordability & CoverageSummarizes local hospital price disclosure compliance in Cook County, U.S. Census median household income, local uninsured rate, and federal 200%–400% FPL charity-care income thresholds.38 of 55 Hospitals Priced
Hospitals Priced38 of 55Number of CMS-certified hospitals located inside Cook County that have published machine-readable price files out of all 55 local facilities.
Median Income$81.8k / yrU.S. Census ACS median annual household income in Cook County ($81,797/yr), used to measure medical bill burden and charity-care eligibility.
Uninsured Rate9.0%Percentage of Cook County residents without health insurance who rely on self-pay cash discounts and 501(r) nonprofit hospital financial assistance.

Local charity-care income cutoffs (200%–400% FPL): up to $31,920 (single) and $128,600 (family of 4) qualify for free or discounted hospital care.

County Hospital Pricing & Affordability Audit38 of 55 Local Hospitals Priced

Cook County, IL Hospital Price & Affordability Summary

Cook County, Illinois (pop. 5,185,812) has 55 CMS-certified hospitals (38 publishing verified machine-readable price files) with a local price index of 1.20× the U.S. fair price benchmark and a $81,797 median household income.

County Price Index: 1.20× Fair MarketMedian Income: $81,797/yr
Advantage

Best Value & Patient Protections in Cook County

  • 38 of 55 hospitals in Cook County publish verified 45 CFR § 180 price files (Mt Sinai Hospital Medical Center, Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago, St Bernard Hospital).
  • High-rated local clinical care: Northwestern Memorial Hospital (5/5 CMS Stars) and Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth La Grange (5/5 CMS Stars).
  • Under federal 26 U.S.C. § 501(r), nonprofit hospitals must provide discounted Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) rates for Cook County families earning up to $128,600/yr (400% FPL).
Watchout

Where Cook County Patients Get Burned (Billing Watchouts)

  • 17 facilities in Cook County (Bhc Streamwood Hospital Inc, Humboldt Park Health) lack an indexed MRF price schedule — always demand a written Good Faith Estimate before scheduling.
  • With a 9.0% local uninsured rate and $81,797 median household income, an unnegotiated $5,000 hospital bill equals 3.2 weeks of typical Cook County family take-home pay.
  • Emergency department and inpatient ancillary charges vary significantly across Illinois counties — inspect each hospital's profile below before paying a full chargemaster bill.
County MRF Price Coverage69% Published
38 of 55 Hospitals

Includes Mt Sinai Hospital Medical Center & Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago.

Free Care Income Cutoff (200% FPL)Nonprofit 501(r) Rule
$31,920 – $64,300

Single ($31,920) to Family of 4 ($64,300) threshold for 100% free charity care.

Discounted Care Cutoff (400% FPL)AGB Billing Cap
Up to $128,600/yr

4-person household income cap qualifying for statutory AGB billing limits in Cook County.

Illinois County Price & Affordability Heatmap 63 of 102 Counties with MRF Hospital Data

Illinois County-Level Hospital Price & Affordability Heatmap

Hospital price index, Medicare markup, and household affordability burden across 102 counties in Illinois

<0.94× Affordable 0.94–1.06× Near Avg 1.06–1.20× Elevated >1.20× High-Markup
Cook County38hosps
1.20× Fair
Income $82k
Kane County5hosps
1.50× Fair
Income $101k
DuPage County4hosps
1.31× Fair
Income $111k
Madison County4hosps
1.36× Fair
Income $75k
Lake County4hosps
1.55× Fair
Income $109k
St. Clair County3hosps
1.21× Fair
Income $70k
Vermilion County2hosps
0.85× Fair
Income $55k
Jefferson County2hosps
0.89× Fair
Income $61k
Rock Island County2hosps
0.92× Fair
Income $67k
Winnebago County2hosps
0.94× Fair
Income $64k
Tazewell County2hosps
0.94× Fair
Income $77k
Peoria County2hosps
0.95× Fair
Income $65k
Macon County2hosps
0.95× Fair
Income $62k
McLean County2hosps
0.96× Fair
Income $78k
Kankakee County2hosps
0.97× Fair
Income $68k
Sangamon County2hosps
1.01× Fair
Income $74k
Macoupin County2hosps
1.36× Fair
Income $69k
Perry County2hosps
1.53× Fair
Income $59k
Pike County1hosp
0.63× Fair
Income $58k
Greene County1hosp
0.64× Fair
Income $61k
Hamilton County1hosp
0.66× Fair
Income $62k
Washington County1hosp
0.67× Fair
Income $76k
Piatt County1hosp
0.68× Fair
Income $88k
Clay County1hosp
0.69× Fair
Income $57k
Showing top 24 counties with hospital price filings of 102 total in Illinois

All Hospitals in Cook County (55)

Select any published hospital below to inspect its procedure price list, insurer discounts, and official MRF verification links.

MRF Compliance: 38 of 55 Published

Compare Procedure Prices Across All Illinois Hospitals

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