Charleston Area Medical Center
501 Morris Street, Charleston, WV 25301 · 125 Priced Procedures · 69% Patient Recommendation
Typical commercial prices here are 18% below the fair benchmark (0.82×) after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
3-Star CMS clinical quality rating paired with 0.82× fair market pricing.
Uniform Value Leader · Low-Cost Across Departments
Charleston Area Medical Center maintains low, disciplined commercial pricing across both routine shoppable procedures (0.8× Medicare, p50 0.80× Fair BaseRate) and emergency/ancillary services (0.9× Medicare, p75 0.96× 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 18% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.82×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 18% of shoppable procedures (25/100 Cash Honesty)
- 2-Star CMS clinical rating with 69% patient recommendation (61/100 safety score)
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (45.6% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.82× 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 (1.1×) & laboratory (1.5×) services average 1.13× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (0.8×)
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 0.96×) jump +20% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 0.80×)
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 6,304) 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 Charleston Area Medical Center
High-impact clinical procedures (MRIs, surgeries, inpatient stays, visits) are prioritized first. Use the category pills or search bar to filter all 125 published procedures.
Audit a Bill or Quote at Charleston Area Medical Center (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $105,485
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (45.6% of gross = $105,485).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Charleston Area Medical Center's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $231,226 (vs. $20,264 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $30,775 Fair BaseRate ($23,504 Medicare)
Your bill ($231,226) is $200,451 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($30,775) and 9.8× the $23,504 Medicare rate.
Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) & Amounts Generally Billed (AGB)
Hospital-Specific CMS HCRIS Benchmark (45.6% 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
Healthcare-Associated Infections (CDC NHSN / CMS HAI)
1.00 SIR = National Predicted Baseline (Lower Is Safer)CMS Price Transparency Administrative Enforcement Log
Factual public administrative actions published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding 45 CFR § 180 compliance at Charleston Area Medical Center. Prior administrative notices do not necessarily reflect current compliance status.
- 2025-03-18·administrative_or_closure
Met Requirements
Recorded - 2023-04-13·administrative_or_closure
Closure Notice
Recorded - 2022-11-23·cap_corrective_action
CAP Request
Recorded - 2021-09-29·warning_notice
Warning Notice
Recorded
Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare (2,707 completed HCAHPS patient surveys). 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 Charleston Area Medical Center.
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.