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Houghton Area Hospital Prices

Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Houghton, MI. Part of all Michigan 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
0.76×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price24% 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 24% below the fair benchmark (0.76×) 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 · Michigan Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Michigan, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.2 Hospitals · 3 Procedures
Hospitals Priced2 in MITotal hospitals in Michigan with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Michigan hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in MI0.76× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Michigan: Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital and Clinics (Laurium) at 0.76× fair market price.

Most affordable Michigan hospital: Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital and Clinics (Laurium) at 0.76× the fair price (24% below benchmark).

Behavioral Pricing FingerprintMedian-Gamed · High Captive Markup

Loss-Leader / Captive Ancillary Cross-Subsidizer

Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital and Clinics prices routine shoppable procedures near 0.7× Medicare (p50 0.63×) while skewing captive emergency, lab, and upper-quartile codes to 2.4× Medicare (p75 1.16×, +84% upper-tail jump). Patients scheduling elective outpatient care can capture competitive rates, but emergency and ancillary bills require strict line-item auditing.

#11 of 91 in MI · 10th State Percentile#200 of 3,385 in U.S. · 5th National Percentile
Advantage

Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)

  • Elective shoppable care is priced 24% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.76×)
  • Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 12% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
  • CMS clinical safety score (72/100 safety score) with 78% patient recommendation
  • IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (15.5% AGB cap)
Watchout

Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)

  • Even at low-cost facilities (0.76× 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.
  • Captive ER (1.0×) & laboratory (0.9×) services average 3.43× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (0.7×)
  • Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.16×) jump +84% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 0.63×)
  • Consolidated metro market (HHI 5,000) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
0.7× Medicare

Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.

Back-Door Captive & ER3.43× Divergence
2.4× Medicare

Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.

Quantile Tail Spread+84% Upper Tail
Q25 0.34× · Q50 0.63× · Q75 1.16×

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
0.7× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
0.9× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
0.8× MedicareGood
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
1.0× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
0.9× MedicareGood
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
1.1× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
12% Cash Edge · 99/100Good
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
3 CMS · 72/100Fair

Hospitals in the Houghton 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.

Compare prices by procedure in Houghton

Local prices across Houghton-area hospitals for 3 procedures.

Care-Setting Arbitrage, Bilateral SVD Insurer Leverage & Regional Alternatives

How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings

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 →