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 2.1× its estimated cost.

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

By health system

PeaceHealth3 hospitals
5.4×
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health7 hospitals
3.0×
Skagit Regional Health2 hospitals
2.3×
EvergreenHealth2 hospitals
2.3×
Independent & other4 hospitals
2.0×
MultiCare8 hospitals
1.5×

By hospital (click headers to sort)

HospitalSystem Price / est. costProcedures
Peacehealth St Joseph Medical CenterPeaceHealth7.9×28
Peacehealth St John Medical CenterPeaceHealth5.4×26
St Michael Medical CenterVirginia Mason Franciscan Health4.2×18
St Clare HospitalVirginia Mason Franciscan Health3.2×18
St Anthony HospitalVirginia Mason Franciscan Health3.0×18
Yakima Valley MemorialMultiCare3.0×17
St Francis Community HospitalVirginia Mason Franciscan Health3.0×18
Kaiser Permanente Central HospitalKaiser3.0×8
Highline Medical CenterVirginia Mason Franciscan Health2.9×18
Cascade Valley HospitalSkagit Regional Health2.9×23
St Joseph Medical CenterVirginia Mason Franciscan Health2.9×18
Evergreenhealth Medical CenterEvergreenHealth2.6×23
Virginia Mason Medical CenterVirginia Mason Franciscan Health2.4×32
Peacehealth Southwest Medical CentePeaceHealth2.2×27
Grays Harbor Community HospitalIndependent & other2.2×23
Samaritan HospitalIndependent & other2.0×19
Confluence Health HospitalConfluence Health2.0×23
Multicare Good Samaritan HospitalMultiCare2.0×21
Capital Medical CenterMultiCare1.9×21
Island HospitalIndependent & other1.9×35
Evergreenhealth MonroeEvergreenHealth1.9×21
Skagit Valley HospitalSkagit Regional Health1.7×56
Valley Medical CenterUW Medicine1.5×58
Astria Toppenish HospitalAstria Health1.5×32
Tacoma General Allenmore HospitalMultiCare1.5×21
Deaconess Medical CenterMultiCare1.5×11
Multicare Auburn Medical CenterMultiCare1.4×21
Multicare Covington Medical CenterMultiCare1.3×21
Multicare Valley HospitalMultiCare1.2×11
Trios HealthIndependent & other0.7×18
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 September 16, 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 →