Valley West Community Hospital
11 East Pleasant Avenue, Sandwich, IL 60548 · 101 Priced Procedures · 79% Patient Recommendation
Typical commercial prices here are 20% below the fair benchmark (0.80×) after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
5-Star CMS clinical quality rating paired with 0.80× fair market pricing.
Loss-Leader / Captive Ancillary Cross-Subsidizer
Valley West Community Hospital prices routine shoppable procedures near 0.5× Medicare (p50 0.29×) while skewing captive emergency, lab, and upper-quartile codes to 2.9× Medicare (p75 0.31×, +7% 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)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 20% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.80×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 42% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- 4-Star CMS clinical rating with 79% patient recommendation (81/100 safety score)
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (60.4% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.5× markup over Medicare rates
- Captive ER (0.7×) & laboratory (2.7×) services average 5.80× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (0.5×)
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.80× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 14.7× Medicare (22¢ 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 Valley West Community Hospital
High-impact clinical procedures (MRIs, surgeries, inpatient stays, visits) are prioritized first. Use the category pills or search bar to filter all 101 published procedures.
| Procedure & Billing Code | This Hospital | vs. Fair |
|---|---|---|
| Sepsis treatment (inpatient stay) MS-DRG Code: 871 | $22,048 | unverified |
| Digestive disorders treatment (inpatient stay) MS-DRG Code: 392 | $16,684 | unverified |
| Gallbladder removal (laparoscopic) CPT Code: 47562 | $15,823 | 2.6× |
| Rabies immune globulin HCPCS Code: 90375 | $9,389 | 29.2× |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (with contrast) CPT Code: 74177 | $6,049 | 13.5× |
| MRI, brain (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70553 | $5,385 | 10.5× |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (no contrast) CPT Code: 74176 | $4,802 | 15.8× |
| Sleep study (overnight, in lab) CPT Code: 95810 | $4,582 | 4.5× |
| MRI, brain (no contrast) CPT Code: 70551 | $3,887 | 11.3× |
| MRI, lower back (no contrast) CPT Code: 72148 | $3,837 | 11.4× |
| MRI, knee or other leg joint CPT Code: 73721 | $3,835 | 10.4× |
| CT scan, head (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70470 | $3,757 | 14.6× |
| CT scan, neck (cervical spine) CPT Code: 72125 | $3,168 | 18.7× |
| CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) CPT Code: 72131 | $3,084 | 18.4× |
| Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) CPT Code: 93306 | $2,951 | 5.1× |
| CT scan, head (with contrast) CPT Code: 70460 | $2,922 | 12.1× |
| CT scan, sinuses CPT Code: 70486 | $2,606 | 15.7× |
| CT scan, chest (no contrast) CPT Code: 71250 | $2,611 | 15.6× |
| Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex) CPT Code: 93970 | $2,626 | 9.7× |
| CT scan, head (no contrast) CPT Code: 70450 | $2,475 | 15.5× |
| CT scan, pelvis CPT Code: 72192 | $2,157 | 13.2× |
| Blood transfusion CPT Code: 36430 | $1,944 | unverified |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (complete) CPT Code: 76700 | $1,772 | 13.2× |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (limited) CPT Code: 76705 | $1,604 | 12.7× |
| Ultrasound, pelvis CPT Code: 76856 | $1,510 | 11.6× |
Audit a Bill or Quote at Valley West Community Hospital (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $19,021
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (60.4% of gross = $19,021).
Self-Pay Cash Rate ($22,048) Beats Your Bill
Valley West Community Hospital's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $22,048 (vs. $22,048 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $19,087 Fair BaseRate ($14,117 Medicare)
Your bill ($31,497) is $12,410 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($19,087) and 2.2× the $14,117 Medicare rate.
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) & Amounts Generally Billed (AGB)
Hospital-Specific CMS HCRIS Benchmark (60.4% 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
Healthcare-Associated Infections (CDC NHSN / CMS HAI)
1.00 SIR = National Predicted Baseline (Lower Is Safer)Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare (107 completed HCAHPS patient surveys). 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 Valley West Community Hospital.
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.