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Metro Price Directory

Bellingham Area Hospital Prices

Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Bellingham, WA. Part of all Washington 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
1.12×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price+12% 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 +12% above the fair benchmark (1.12×) 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 · Washington Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Washington, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.1 Hospitals Mapped
Hospitals Priced1 in WATotal hospitals in Washington with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Washington hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in WA1.12× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Washington: St Joseph Hospital (Bellingham) at 1.12× fair market price.

Most affordable Washington hospital: St Joseph Hospital (Bellingham) at 1.12× the fair price (1% below benchmark).

Behavioral Pricing FingerprintConsistent Department Multiples

Aligned Regional Benchmark Peer

St Joseph Hospital prices shoppable and inpatient services (1.2× to 1.2× Medicare, divergence 1.00×) in alignment with regional hospital peers (1.12× Fair BaseRate). Reviewing plan-specific negotiated rates and cash discounts helps lock in the lowest out-of-pocket tier.

#25 of 58 in WA · 41st State Percentile#1,775 of 3,385 in U.S. · 52nd National Percentile
Advantage

Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)

  • Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 1.00× the peer BaseRate benchmark
  • Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 26% of shoppable procedures (84/100 Cash Honesty)
  • 4-Star CMS clinical rating with 67% patient recommendation (66/100 safety score)
  • IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (36.3% AGB cap)
Watchout

Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)

  • Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.5× markup over Medicare rates
  • Commercial insurance median sits at 1.10× Fair BaseRate (1.2× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
  • Specialty infusion drugs (J-codes) average 1.4× Medicare — verify per-unit billing on itemized statements
  • Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 11.2× Medicare (14¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
1.2× Medicare

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

Back-Door Captive & ER1.00× Divergence
1.2× Medicare

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

Quantile Tail Spread+12% Upper Tail
Q25 1.00× · Q50 1.10× · Q75 1.23×

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
1.2× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
1.5× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
1.3× MedicareGood
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
1.7× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
1.6× MedicareGood
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
1.4× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
26% Cash Edge · 84/100Good
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
4 CMS · 66/100Fair

Hospitals in the Bellingham 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.

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 →