Phillips County Hospital - Cah
311 S 8Th Ave E, Malta, MT 59538 · 86 Priced Procedures
Typical commercial prices here are 23% below the fair benchmark (0.77×) after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Uniform Value Leader · Low-Cost Across Departments
Phillips County Hospital - Cah maintains low, disciplined commercial pricing across both routine shoppable procedures (0.8× Medicare, p50 0.77× Fair BaseRate) and emergency/ancillary services (0.8× Medicare, p75 0.78× Fair BaseRate). Both insured and self-pay patients benefit from below-benchmark rates across departments.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 23% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.77×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 0% of shoppable procedures (25/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (69/100 safety score) with 72% patient recommendation
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (6.8% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.77× 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 0.77× Fair BaseRate (0.8× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Specialty infusion drugs (J-codes) average 1.1× Medicare — verify per-unit billing on itemized statements
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 9.5× Medicare (14¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
Procedure Prices at Phillips County Hospital - Cah
High-impact clinical procedures (MRIs, surgeries, inpatient stays, visits) are prioritized first. Use the category pills or search bar to filter all 86 published procedures.
| Procedure & Billing Code | This Hospital | vs. Fair |
|---|---|---|
| MRI, brain (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70553 | $3,556 | 7.0× |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (with contrast) CPT Code: 74177 | $3,356 | 7.5× |
| MRI, lower back (no contrast) CPT Code: 72148 | $2,809 | 8.3× |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (no contrast) CPT Code: 74176 | $2,389 | 7.9× |
| Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex) CPT Code: 93970 | $2,127 | 7.8× |
| CT scan, head (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70470 | $2,062 | 8.0× |
| CT scan, neck (cervical spine) CPT Code: 72125 | $1,988 | 11.8× |
| CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) CPT Code: 72131 | $1,948 | 11.6× |
| MRI, brain (no contrast) CPT Code: 70551 | $1,922 | 5.6× |
| CT scan, chest (no contrast) CPT Code: 71250 | $1,752 | 10.5× |
| CT scan, head (no contrast) CPT Code: 70450 | $1,715 | 10.7× |
| CT scan, head (with contrast) CPT Code: 70460 | $1,690 | 7.0× |
| CT scan, pelvis CPT Code: 72192 | $1,636 | 10.0× |
| CT scan, sinuses CPT Code: 70486 | $1,501 | 9.0× |
| MRI, knee or other leg joint CPT Code: 73721 | $1,367 | 3.7× |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (complete) CPT Code: 76700 | $980 | 7.3× |
| Trauma team activation HCPCS Code: G0390 | $986 | 0.7× |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (limited) CPT Code: 76705 | $670 | 5.3× |
| Hospital observation (per hour) HCPCS Code: G0378 | $462 | 5.4× |
| Ultrasound, thyroid and neck CPT Code: 76536 | $433 | 3.3× |
| Ultrasound, pelvis CPT Code: 76856 | $349 | 2.7× |
| Blood transfusion CPT Code: 36430 | $362 | 0.7× |
| X-ray, neck (cervical spine) CPT Code: 72040 | $295 | 3.2× |
| X-ray, lower back CPT Code: 72110 | $315 | 2.8× |
| New patient office visit (30-44 min) CPT Code: 99203 | $296 | 2.7× |
Audit a Bill or Quote at Phillips County Hospital - Cah (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $243
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (6.8% of gross = $243).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Phillips County Hospital - Cah's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $3,556 (vs. $3,556 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $511 Fair BaseRate ($356 Medicare)
Your bill ($3,556) is $3,045 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($511) and 10.0× the $356 Medicare rate.
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) & Amounts Generally Billed (AGB)
Hospital-Specific CMS HCRIS Benchmark (6.8% of gross charges)
Under 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5), a tax-exempt hospital organization may not bill FAP-eligible patients more than Amounts Generally Billed (AGB) to individuals with insurance covering emergency or medically necessary care. Derived from this facility’s reported CMS HCRIS cost-to-charge & insurer allowance filings. Verify your exact Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) determination directly with the billing office.
Clinical Quality, Patient Experience & Infection Benchmarks
Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare. Clinical quality metrics summarize historical facility-wide cohorts and are not medical advice for individual care decisions.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
2D regional comparison of commercial negotiated price index against CMS clinical quality composite for Phillips County Hospital - Cah.
Verify the Raw Data: Official Hospital MRF, CMS Medicare.gov & Federal Filings
Safe-Harbor Data Corrections: Parsed directly from public 45 CFR § 180 hospital filings, CMS Care Compare, and CMS HCRIS cost reports. Hospital compliance officers may submit updated MRF URLs or rate tables for verification.