Grace Cottage Hospital
Po Box 216, Townshend, VT 05353 · 79 Priced Procedures
Typical commercial prices here are +19% above the fair benchmark (1.19×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Wide Procedure Spread · Upper-Quartile Skew Pricer
Grace Cottage Hospital prices routine shoppable procedures at 2.7× Medicare (median 1.00× Fair BaseRate) while upper-quartile commercial rates jump +56% to 1.56× Fair BaseRate. Self-pay cash discounts and comparing specific CPT procedure codes before scheduling yield the strongest savings.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.97× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 82% of shoppable procedures (98/100 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 (89.9% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.8× markup over Medicare rates
- Commercial insurance median sits at 1.00× Fair BaseRate (2.7× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.56×) jump +56% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 1.00×)
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 4,768) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
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 Grace Cottage Hospital
High-impact clinical procedures (MRIs, surgeries, inpatient stays, visits) are prioritized first. Use the category pills or search bar to filter all 79 published procedures.
| Procedure & Billing Code | This Hospital | vs. Fair |
|---|---|---|
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (with contrast) CPT Code: 74177 | $1,587 | unverified |
| CT scan, abdomen and pelvis (no contrast) CPT Code: 74176 | $1,264 | 4.2× |
| CT scan, head (with and without contrast) CPT Code: 70470 | $1,106 | unverified |
| CT scan, neck (cervical spine) CPT Code: 72125 | $907 | 5.4× |
| CT scan, head (with contrast) CPT Code: 70460 | $917 | unverified |
| CT scan, chest (no contrast) CPT Code: 71250 | $907 | unverified |
| CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) CPT Code: 72131 | $907 | unverified |
| CT scan, pelvis CPT Code: 72192 | $931 | unverified |
| CT scan, sinuses CPT Code: 70486 | $805 | unverified |
| CT scan, head (no contrast) CPT Code: 70450 | $739 | 4.6× |
| Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex) CPT Code: 93970 | $470 | 1.7× |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (complete) CPT Code: 76700 | $361 | 2.7× |
| Blood transfusion CPT Code: 36430 | $345 | 0.7× |
| Ultrasound, thyroid and neck CPT Code: 76536 | $313 | 2.4× |
| Ultrasound, abdomen (limited) CPT Code: 76705 | $271 | 2.2× |
| Ultrasound, pelvis CPT Code: 76856 | $268 | 2.1× |
| X-ray, lower back CPT Code: 72110 | $214 | 1.9× |
| X-ray, hip CPT Code: 73502 | $151 | 1.6× |
| Speech therapy (language evaluation) CPT Code: 92507 | $134 | 1.6× |
| X-ray, chest (two views) CPT Code: 71046 | $139 | 1.5× |
| X-ray, foot CPT Code: 73630 | $134 | 1.5× |
| X-ray, shoulder CPT Code: 73030 | $133 | 1.4× |
| X-ray, hand CPT Code: 73130 | $134 | 1.4× |
| X-ray, ankle CPT Code: 73610 | $134 | 1.4× |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG, tracing only) CPT Code: 93005 | $107 | 1.7× |
Audit a Bill or Quote at Grace Cottage Hospital (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $4,755
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (89.9% of gross = $4,755).
Self-Pay Cash Rate ($4,231) Beats Your Bill
Grace Cottage Hospital's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $4,231 (vs. $1,587 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $448 Fair BaseRate ($356 Medicare)
Your bill ($5,289) is $4,841 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($448) and 14.9× the $356 Medicare rate.
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) & Amounts Generally Billed (AGB)
Hospital-Specific CMS HCRIS Benchmark (89.9% 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 Grace Cottage Hospital.
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.