DRG 281 · Cardiovascular

Heart Attack Cost in Tennessee — Compare All Hospitals

Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) with complications — discharged alive.

State average
$37,542
gross charge · DRG 281
Hospitals
10
with published pricing
Price range
$5,142 – $49,744
low to high
Lowest $5,142 Highest $49,744

Tennessee hospitals price heart attack (Medicare DRG 281) anywhere from $5,142 to $49,744 — a $44,602 gap between the cheapest and most expensive option. The cheapest is Unity Medical Center in Manchester; the most expensive is Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Pulaski in Pulaski. The state average sits at $37,542.

Gross charges are the hospital's list price for the facility part of your stay — the room, operating-room time, nursing, and equipment. Insurance plans negotiate substantial discounts, Medicare and Medicaid pay fixed federal rates, and uninsured patients can usually qualify for a cash-pay discount. But the gross charge still works as a useful benchmark: a hospital that lists heart attack at twice the price of another typically negotiates higher rates with insurers too, and quotes more for uninsured patients.

If you're scheduling heart attack in Tennessee, sort the list below by price, then click each hospital name to see its quality profile — CMS overall star rating, surgical-safety measures, readmission rates, patient-experience scores. The cheapest hospital isn't always the right call. Teaching hospitals often charge more because they take complex cases, and a higher-rated community hospital may deliver equivalent outcomes for a straightforward case at a lower price. Use the price column to narrow the field; use the quality data to make the final call.

Pricing comes from each hospital's Machine-Readable File (MRF), published under the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Tennessee hospitals missing from the list either don't perform heart attack in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 281 in their most recent MRF, or fell below our data-quality thresholds (we filter out clearly erroneous entries like $0 charges). The list refreshes as hospitals update their files.

What this hospital charge usually covers

The gross-charge number above is the hospital's facility bill for heart attack. Here's what's typically inside that price (typical inpatient stay: 3–5 days):

Included in the hospital bill

  • Emergency department evaluation and cardiac workup
  • Inpatient cardiac monitoring (often in a coronary care unit)
  • Diagnostic catheterization and any required stenting
  • Inpatient medications and routine labs during admission

Usually billed separately

  • Cardiologist, ED physician, and any interventional specialist professional fees
  • Ambulance transport
  • Outpatient cardiac rehab and follow-up visits after discharge
  • Long-term medications (antiplatelets, statins, beta-blockers)

Quality signals to check before picking a hospital

Price alone won't tell you which hospital does heart attack best. These are the CMS quality measures that matter most for this specific procedure. Click any hospital below for its full profile, then look for these:

Heart-Attack Mortality (30-day)

The single most important quality signal — how often patients survive 30 days after a heart attack at this hospital.

Time to Fibrinolysis (STEMI)

For ST-elevation heart attacks treated with clot-busting drugs, every minute counts. Tracks median minutes from arrival to treatment.

Heart-Attack Readmissions

Reflects discharge planning, medication reconciliation, and outpatient cardiology handoff.

When the cheapest hospital may not be the best fit

The list below sorts by price. For heart attack, the lowest price isn't automatically the best fit — these are situations where it's worth weighing additional factors against price. None of the below is medical advice; talk to your doctor about what applies to your specific situation.

Questions to ask your hospital or insurer

The gross charge is the starting point. These are the procedure-specific questions to ask before you commit:

Hospitals ranked by gross charge

  1. 1

    Unity Medical Center

    Manchester, TN

    Gross charge $5,142
    Cash pay $4,114
  2. 2

    Cookeville Regional Medical Center

    Cookeville, TN

    Gross charge $22,256
    Cash pay $13,643
  3. 3

    University Health System, Inc

    Knoxville, TN

    Gross charge $37,714
    Cash pay $11,314
  4. 4

    Starr Regional Medical Center Athens

    Athens, TN

    Gross charge $37,766
    Cash pay $7,402
  5. 5
    Gross charge $43,996
    Cash pay $14,343
  6. 6
    Gross charge $43,996
    Cash pay $14,343
  7. 7
    Gross charge $43,996
    Cash pay $14,343
  8. 8
    Gross charge $43,996
    Cash pay $14,343
  9. 9

    Methodist Hospitals of Memphis

    Memphis, TN

    Gross charge $46,815
    Cash pay $10,299
  10. 10
    Gross charge $49,744
    Cash pay $14,575
  11. 11

    Jackson-Madison County General Hospital

    Jackson, TN

    Gross charge
  12. 12

    Cumberland Medical Center

    Crossville, TN

    Gross charge
  13. 13
    Gross charge
  14. 14

    Roane Medical Center

    Harriman, TN

    Gross charge
  15. 15

    Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge

    Oak Ridge, TN

    Gross charge
  16. 16

    Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis

    Memphis, TN

    Gross charge
  17. 17

    Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford

    Murfreesboro, TN

    Gross charge
  18. 18
    Gross charge
  19. 19
    Gross charge
  20. 20

    Volunteer Community Hospital

    Martin, TN

    Gross charge
  21. 21

    Dyersburg Regional Medical Center

    Dyersburg, TN

    Gross charge
  22. 22

    Leconte Medical Center

    Sevierville, TN

    Gross charge
  23. 23

    Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West

    Nashville, TN

    Gross charge
  24. 24

    Memorial Healthcare System, Inc

    Chattanooga, TN

    Gross charge
  25. 25

    Fort Loudoun Medical Center

    Lenoir City, TN

    Gross charge
  26. 26

    Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center

    Knoxville, TN

    Gross charge
  27. 27

    Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City

    Union City, TN

    Gross charge
  28. 28

    Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton

    Covington, TN

    Gross charge
  29. 29
    Gross charge
  30. 30

    Dekalb Community Hospital

    Smithville, TN

    Gross charge
  31. 31

    Ascension Saint Thomas River Park

    Mcminnville, TN

    Gross charge
  32. 32

    Parkwest Medical Center

    Knoxville, TN

    Gross charge
  33. 33
    Gross charge
  34. 34
    Gross charge
  35. 35
    Gross charge
  36. 36
    Gross charge
  37. 37
    Gross charge
  38. 38
    Gross charge
  39. 39
    Gross charge

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