Price vs. cost — where the margin lives

Commercial prices against each hospital’s estimated cost to deliver, built from the same federal cost reports (HCRIS) regulators use. Statewide, the median hospital prices commercial care at 3.1× its estimated cost.

Median price as a multiple of estimated cost 1× = price equals cost

By health system

HCA HealthONE6 hospitals
7.1×
Intermountain4 hospitals
3.6×
UCHealth10 hospitals
3.2×
CommonSpirit5 hospitals
3.1×
Independent & other17 hospitals
2.7×
Banner Health3 hospitals
2.5×

By hospital (click headers to sort)

HospitalSystem Price / est. costProcedures
HCA HealthONE Mountain RidgeHCA HealthONE8.0×16
HCA HealthONE RoseHCA HealthONE7.7×15
Sky Ridge Medical CenterHCA HealthONE7.6×12
HCA HealthONE Swedish Medical CenterHCA HealthONE6.7×15
HCA HealthONE Presbyterian St. LukesHCA HealthONE6.1×13
The Medical Center Of Aurora & South HospitalHCA HealthONE5.9×18
Boulder Community HealthIndependent & other4.8×30
National Jewish HealthIndependent & other4.7×14
Parkview Medical CenterUCHealth4.4×13
Mercy Regional Medical CenterCommonSpirit3.9×10
Intermountain Health Lutheran HospitalIntermountain3.7×18
Intermountain Health St. Mary'S Regional HospitalIntermountain3.7×12
Medical Center Of The RockiesUCHealth3.7×23
Poudre Valley HospitalUCHealth3.5×23
Good Samaritan Medical CenterIndependent & other3.5×11
Intermountain Saint Joseph HospitalIntermountain3.5×14
UCHealth Highlands Ranch HospitalUCHealth3.4×17
St Anthony Summit Medical CenterIndependent & other3.4×9
UCHealth University of Colorado HospitalUCHealth3.3×28
Banner North Colorado Medical CenterBanner Health3.1×17
UCHealth Memorial HospitalUCHealth3.1×19
CommonSpirit Penrose St Francis Health ServicesCommonSpirit3.1×16
CommonSpirit St Anthony North Health CampusCommonSpirit3.1×16
Longs Peak HospitalIndependent & other3.1×17
Denver HealthDenver Health3.1×34
Orthocolorado Hosp At St Anthony Med CampusIndependent & other2.9×16
CommonSpirit St Anthony HospitalCommonSpirit2.9×16
Intermountain Health Platte Valley HospitalIntermountain2.8×15
UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical CenterUCHealth2.8×10
St Mary-Corwin HospitalIndependent & other2.8×12
Community HospitalIndependent & other2.8×14
Montrose Regional HealthIndependent & other2.7×26
St Elizabeth HospitalIndependent & other2.7×12
Valley View HospitalIndependent & other2.6×18
San Luis Valley Regional Medical CenterIndependent & other2.5×13
Banner Fort Collins Medical CenterBanner Health2.5×16
UCHealth Greeley HospitalUCHealth2.5×23
Banner North Co Medical Center - Loveland CampusBanner Health2.3×13
Animas Surgical HospitalIndependent & other2.1×18
Delta County Memorial HospitalIndependent & other2.0×15
Vail Health HospitalIndependent & other2.0×30
Longmont United HospitalCommonSpirit1.9×16
UCHealth Broomfield HospitalUCHealth1.7×17
UCHealth Grandview HospitalUCHealth1.7×17
Sterling Regional MedcenterIndependent & other1.6×14
St Francis Hospital - InterquestIndependent & other0.6×16
Cost estimates multiply published gross charges by each hospital’s operating cost-to-charge ratio from CMS cost reports — the standard MedPAC/NASHP method. They are estimates, not accounting truth: imaging and lab cells (where the hospital-level ratio is least precise) and data-flagged cells are excluded here, and hospitals with fewer than 5 usable cells are not shown. System attribution is name-based and approximate — corrections welcome at andrew@rexroadanalytics.com. Department-level cost ratios are a planned upgrade. Method details on the methodology page.
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Rexroad Analytics · Data: hospital machine-readable files (45 CFR 180, schema v3.0) retrieved August 21–22, 2026; Medicare benchmarks from CMS claims data and fee schedules; cost estimates from FY2026 CMS cost-report ratios, labeled as estimates. Not medical, legal, or benefits advice. Full methodology → · The American Healthcare Conundrum →