Hays Area Hospital Prices
Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Hays, KS. Part of all Kansas hospital prices.
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
1.08×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price+8% 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 +8% above the fair benchmark (1.08×) 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 · Kansas Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Kansas, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.1 Hospitals Mapped
Hospitals Priced1 in KSTotal hospitals in Kansas with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Kansas hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in KS1.08× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Kansas: Hays Medical Center (Hays) at 1.08× fair market price.
Most affordable Kansas hospital: Hays Medical Center (Hays) at 1.08× the fair price (1% below benchmark).
Behavioral Pricing FingerprintConsistent Department Multiples
Aligned Regional Benchmark Peer
Hays Medical Center prices shoppable and inpatient services (1.3× to 1.3× Medicare, divergence 1.00×) in alignment with regional hospital peers (1.08× Fair BaseRate). Reviewing plan-specific negotiated rates and cash discounts helps lock in the lowest out-of-pocket tier.
#38 of 103 in KS · 35th State Percentile#1,612 of 3,385 in U.S. · 47th National Percentile
Advantage
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.85× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 11% of shoppable procedures (25/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (64/100 safety score) with 65% patient recommendation
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (24.4% AGB cap)
Watchout
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (1.08× 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.
- Commercial insurance median sits at 0.99× Fair BaseRate (1.3× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.33×) jump +34% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 0.99×)
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 10,000) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
1.3× Medicare
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Back-Door Captive & ER1.00× Divergence
1.3× Medicare
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Quantile Tail Spread+34% Upper Tail
Q25 0.85× · Q50 0.99× · Q75 1.33×
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
Select any lens to inspect department markups, federal cost accounting, or insurer discounts.
Department & Integrity Multiples (vs. CMS Medicare Cost Anchor)
Green ≤1.3× · Teal 1.3–1.8× · Amber 1.8–2.5× · Rose >2.5×
Front-Door Shoppable CareFront-Door Shoppable
1.3× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
0.6× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
1.7× MedicareGood
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
2.9× MedicareFair
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
1.1× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
11% Cash Edge · 25/100Watchout
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
3 CMS · 64/100Elevated
Hospitals in the Hays area
Ranked by how their prices compare to the fair BaseRate — best value first. The × fair figure is geo-adjusted. Tap any hospital for its full price list.
- Hays Medical Center · Hays 56/100 26 priced 1.08× fair
Care-Setting Arbitrage, Bilateral SVD Insurer Leverage & Regional Alternatives
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Prices are sourced from each hospital's federally-required public price file, most recently published October 2026. The BaseRate is a modeled fair-price estimate — not a bill or quote. How we build these numbers →