Brownwood Area Hospital Prices
Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Brownwood, TX. Part of all Texas 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.Above Fair Market · Negotiate
1.34×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price+34% Above 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 +34% above the fair benchmark (1.34×) even 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 · Texas Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Texas, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.1 Hospitals Mapped
Hospitals Priced1 in TXTotal hospitals in Texas with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Texas hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in TX1.34× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Texas: Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood (Brownwood) at 1.34× fair market price.
Most affordable Texas hospital: Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood (Brownwood) at 1.34× the fair price (1% below benchmark).
Behavioral Pricing FingerprintHigh-HHI Market Leverage
Consolidated System Premium Pricer
Operating in a concentrated regional market (CBSA HHI 10,000), Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood commands a 1.34× BaseRate commercial premium across insurers. Self-pay cash quotes, in-state peer hospitals, and freestanding outpatient facilities offer critical leverage against consolidated system pricing.
#209 of 307 in TX · 67th State Percentile#2,347 of 3,385 in U.S. · 69th National Percentile
Advantage
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.77× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 80% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- 1-Star CMS clinical rating with 55% patient recommendation (55/100 safety score)
- Binding Good Faith Estimate rights under 45 CFR § 149.610 protect self-pay patients before scheduling
Watchout
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (1.34× 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 (0.6×) & laboratory (1.0×) services average 1.15× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (1.3×)
- Even at low-cost facilities (1.34× 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 10,000) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
1.3× Medicare
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Back-Door Captive & ER1.15× Divergence
1.5× Medicare
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Quantile Tail Spread+8% Upper Tail
Q25 0.77× · Q50 1.43× · Q75 1.54×
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
1.3× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
0.6× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
0.9× MedicareGood
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
0.6× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
1.0× MedicareGood
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
80% Cash Edge · 99/100Good
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
1 CMS · 55/100Elevated
Hospitals in the Brownwood 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.
- Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood · Brownwood 83/100 120 priced 1.34× fair
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 →