Paducah Ky Area Hospital Prices
Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Paducah Ky, KY. Part of all Kentucky 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.Good Deal · Below Fair Market
0.92×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price8% 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.
Typical commercial prices here are 8% below the fair benchmark (0.92×) 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 · 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.3 Hospitals · 57 Procedures
Hospitals Priced3 in KYTotal hospitals in Kentucky with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Kentucky hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in KY0.92× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Kentucky: Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital (Paducah) at 0.92× fair market price.
Most affordable Kentucky hospital: Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital (Paducah) at 0.92× the fair price (8% below benchmark).
Behavioral Pricing FingerprintLow Shoppable & Low Captive Rates
Uniform Value Leader · Low-Cost Across Departments
This hospital maintains low, disciplined commercial pricing across both routine shoppable procedures (1.0× Medicare, p50 0.95× Fair BaseRate) and emergency/ancillary services (1.0× Medicare, p75 0.96× Fair BaseRate). Both insured and self-pay patients benefit from below-benchmark rates across departments.
#22 of 68 in KY · 30th State Percentile#777 of 3,385 in U.S. · 22nd National Percentile
Advantage
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 8% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.92×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 0% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (68/100 safety score) with 68% patient recommendation
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (16.4% AGB cap)
Watchout
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.2× markup over Medicare rates
- Commercial insurance median sits at 0.95× Fair BaseRate (1.0× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.92× 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.
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 8,896) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
1.0× Medicare
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Back-Door Captive & ER1.00× Divergence
1.0× Medicare
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Quantile Tail Spread+1% Upper Tail
Q25 0.77× · Q50 0.95× · Q75 0.96×
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
1.0× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
1.2× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
2.2× MedicareFair
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
1.4× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
3.0× MedicareFair
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
0% Cash Edge · 99/100Good
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
3 CMS · 68/100Fair
Hospitals in the Paducah Ky 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.
- Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital · Paducah 80/100 15 priced 0.92× fair
- Massac Memorial Hospital · Metropolis 84/100 82 priced 1.59× fair
- Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Services, Inc · Salem 70/100 68 priced 1.81× fair
Compare prices by procedure in Paducah Ky
Local prices across Paducah Ky-area hospitals for 57 procedures.
- Blood antibody screen
- Blood test, thyroid (TSH)
- Blood test, vitamin D
- Blood transfusion
- Breast lump removal
- CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (no contrast)
- CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (with contrast)
- CT scan, chest (no contrast)
- CT scan, head (no contrast)
- CT scan, head (with and without contrast)
- CT scan, head (with contrast)
- CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)
- CT scan, neck (cervical spine)
- CT scan, pelvis
- CT scan, sinuses
- Colonoscopy (diagnostic)
- Colonoscopy with biopsy
- Diagnostic mammogram (both breasts)
- Electrocardiogram (EKG, tracing only)
- Flu vaccine (high dose)
- Flu vaccine injection
- Hepatitis C antibody test
- MRI, brain (no contrast)
- MRI, brain (with and without contrast)
- MRI, knee or other leg joint
- MRI, lower back (no contrast)
- New patient office visit (30-44 min)
- Occupational therapy (self-care training)
- Occupational therapy (therapeutic activities)
- Office visit, established patient (20-29 min)
- Office visit, established patient (30-39 min)
- Orthotic fitting and training
- Physical therapy (functional capacity test)
- Physical therapy (gait training)
- Physical therapy (manual therapy)
- Physical therapy (neuromuscular re-education)
- Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise)
- Pneumococcal vaccine
- Prosthetic fitting and training
- Screening mammogram (both breasts)
- Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis)
- Ultrasound, abdomen (complete)
- Ultrasound, abdomen (limited)
- Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex)
- Ultrasound, pelvis
- Ultrasound, thyroid and neck
- Upper endoscopy with biopsy
- X-ray, ankle
- X-ray, chest (single view)
- X-ray, chest (two views)
- X-ray, foot
- X-ray, hand
- X-ray, hip
- X-ray, lower back
- X-ray, neck (cervical spine)
- X-ray, pelvis
- X-ray, shoulder
No procedures match that search.
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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 →