CMS Price Transparency Data

Hip or knee replacement (inpatient stay)

Facility: Merit Health Natchez

Billing Code: 470 (MS-DRG)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$17,527

about 1.2× the $14,044 Medicare rate · typically $15,325–$18,935

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$18,417

About the fair price

about $890 over the fair price · 1.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $14,044 Fair price $17,527 This hospital $18,417

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MS hospitals

Highest price of the 9 MS hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $14,180 Priciest $18,417

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 MS hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

A fair price for a Hip or knee replacement (inpatient stay) is about $17,527 (about 1.2× the $14,044 Medicare rate). Merit Health Natchez charges insurers about $18,417 — about the fair price. Located in Natchez, MS.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

3 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna CignaHumanaKaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$16,442 - $22,991	117%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$23,322	166%
Aetnamajor	$9,018 - $16,935	64%
Devoted Health	$16,771	119%
Molina	$16,771 - $26,369	119%
WellCare	$17,077	122%
+ 14 smaller / regional plans	$3,101 - $35,997

Government programs also on file: Medicare.

Excludes 2 rental-network / third-party entries (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price, before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the MS-DRG code on your bill matches exactly: 470.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Merit Health Natchez is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for MS-DRG code 470.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at Merit Health Natchez

Compare: Hip or knee replacement (inpatient stay) at other MS hospitals

Singing River Gulfport · Gulfport $14,180
King's Daughters Medical Center-Brookhaven · Brookhaven $14,193
Singing River Health System · Pascagoula $14,390
Baptist Medical Center-Yazoo · Yazoo City $14,707
Bmh-Calhoun · Calhoun City $14,707
Baptist Medical Center Attala · Kosciusko $14,707
Merit Health River Region · Vicksburg $15,336
University of Mississippi Medical Center- Grenada · Grenada $15,378

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.