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State Price Transparency Index 75 Mapped Hospitals 130 Shoppable Procedures −7% vs. U.S. Median (near the U.S. average)

Kentucky Hospital Rates

Compare cash discount rates, commercial insurance prices, and fair price benchmarks across all 75 Kentucky hospitals.

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.Good Deal · Below Fair Market
0.93×vs. U.S. Fair Price Average
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price7% Below 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.

Across 75 Kentucky hospitals, typical commercial prices average 7% below the U.S. fair price (0.93×) after accounting for local wages.

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 · Kentucky Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Kentucky, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.75 Hospitals · 130 Procedures
Hospitals Priced75 in KYTotal hospitals in Kentucky with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.7× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Kentucky hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in KY0.70× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Kentucky: Breckinridge Memorial Hospital (Hardinsburg) at 0.70× fair market price.

Most affordable Kentucky hospital: Breckinridge Memorial Hospital (Hardinsburg) at 0.70× the fair price (30% below benchmark).

Statewide Hospital Pricing Fingerprint75 Kentucky Hospitals Analyzed

Kentucky Statewide Hospital Pricing Summary

Across 75 reporting hospitals and 130 shoppable procedures in Kentucky, typical commercial insurance rates sit at 0.93× the U.S. fair price average (1.7× federal Medicare rates). However, prices vary by 4.3× across the state — from 0.70× fair price at the most affordable hospitals up to 3.04× at high-markup facilities.

State Price Index: 0.93× U.S. Fair AverageAvg Commercial Rate: 1.7× Medicare
Advantage

Best Value in Kentucky (Lowest-Priced Hospitals & Patient Edge)

  • Best-value hospital in Kentucky: Breckinridge Memorial Hospital (Hardinsburg) prices care at 0.70× the fair price benchmark.
  • Additional low-cost leaders include Trigg County Hospital (Cadiz, 0.70× fair) and Tug Valley Arh Regional Medical Center (0.71× fair).
  • Bottom-quartile Kentucky hospitals (Q25) charge 0.88× the fair price or less — comparing quotes before scheduling elective care saves 25%–45%.
  • Nonprofit 501(c)(3) hospitals across Kentucky must provide free or discounted charity care under federal 26 U.S.C. § 501(r) income rules.
Watchout

Where Kentucky Patients Get Burned (High-Markup Traps)

  • Highest-markup Kentucky facilities reach 5.9× Medicare (Baptist Health Hardin in Elizabethtown, King's Daughters' Medical Center).
  • Prices for the exact same procedure swing 4.3× between the lowest-priced (0.70×) and highest-priced (3.04×) hospitals in Kentucky.
  • Emergency room, lab, and outpatient surgery facility fees carry significantly higher markups than pre-scheduled imaging or freestanding centers.
Most Affordable KY Hospitals (Bottom 25%)Best Value Tier
0.70× – 0.88× Fair

Led by Breckinridge Memorial Hospital (Hardinsburg) at 0.70× fair price.

Typical Kentucky Hospital (State Median)1.7× Medicare
1.09× Fair Price

Middle-of-the-pack commercial rate across all 75 Kentucky hospitals.

Highest-Markup KY Hospitals (Top 25%)4.3× State Spread
1.61× – 3.04× Fair

Highest-priced quarter of Kentucky hospitals where shopping around saves the most.

Kentucky County Price & Affordability Heatmap 57 of 120 Counties with MRF Hospital Data

Kentucky County-Level Hospital Price & Affordability Heatmap

Hospital price index, Medicare markup, and household affordability burden across 120 counties in Kentucky

<0.94× Affordable 0.94–1.06× Near Avg 1.06–1.20× Elevated >1.20× High-Markup
Fayette County5hosps
1.49× Fair
Income $68k
Jefferson County3hosps
1.01× Fair
Income $68k
Floyd County3hosps
1.09× Fair
Income $42k
Pike County2hosps
0.92× Fair
Income $42k
Breckinridge County1hosp
0.70× Fair
Income $54k
Trigg County1hosp
0.70× Fair
Income $55k
Lawrence County1hosp
0.72× Fair
Income $46k
Pulaski County1hosp
0.73× Fair
Income $51k
Letcher County1hosp
0.75× Fair
Income $41k
Hopkins County1hosp
0.76× Fair
Income $58k
Boyle County1hosp
0.76× Fair
Income $62k
Henderson County1hosp
0.78× Fair
Income $58k
Johnson County1hosp
0.78× Fair
Income $43k
Barren County1hosp
0.79× Fair
Income $49k
Bell County1hosp
0.81× Fair
Income $32k
Perry County1hosp
0.83× Fair
Income $45k
Mercer County1hosp
0.86× Fair
Income $63k
Breathitt County1hosp
0.86× Fair
Income $41k
Harrison County1hosp
0.87× Fair
Income $63k
Warren County1hosp
0.88× Fair
Income $65k
Harlan County1hosp
0.88× Fair
Income $37k
Crittenden County1hosp
0.89× Fair
Income $47k
Rockcastle County1hosp
0.90× Fair
Income $48k
McCracken County1hosp
0.92× Fair
Income $62k
Showing top 24 counties with hospital price filings of 120 total in Kentucky

All Hospitals in Kentucky (75)

Ranked by how their commercial prices compare to the fair BaseRate — best value first. Select any hospital to inspect its full procedure price list.

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Compare Prices by Procedure in Kentucky (130)

High-impact surgeries, scans, and hospital stays are listed first with the typical Kentucky price. Search any procedure below.

Browse Kentucky by Metro Area

Local hospital comparison pages for each Kentucky regional market.

Which Insurers Negotiate Prices in Kentucky

Across the 80 Kentucky hospitals that publish negotiated rates, here is how many hospitals each major insurance carrier has an in-network contract with.

Blue Cross Blue Shield 76 of 80 hospitals
UnitedHealthcare 71 of 80 hospitals
Aetna 64 of 80 hospitals
Humana 63 of 80 hospitals
Cigna 30 of 80 hospitals

Also negotiating in Kentucky: WellCare (55) · Molina (36) · CareSource (23) · Devoted Health (11) · Ambetter (Centene) (8) · UniCare (8).

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 →