Heart Failure Cost in Massachusetts — Compare All Hospitals
Hospitalization for heart failure with complications, the most common cardiology admission in the U.S.
What this hospital charge usually covers
The gross-charge number above is the hospital's facility bill for heart failure. Here's what's typically inside that price (typical inpatient stay: 4–6 days):
Included in the hospital bill
- Inpatient cardiac monitoring
- IV diuretics and other heart-failure medications during admission
- Echocardiogram and other cardiac imaging
- Routine labs (BNP, electrolytes, kidney function)
Usually billed separately
- Cardiologist and hospitalist professional fees (billed separately)
- Outpatient cardiology follow-up after discharge
- Cardiac rehab program (if indicated)
- Long-term medications (diuretics, ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, SGLT2 inhibitors)
Quality signals to check before picking a hospital
Price alone won't tell you which hospital does heart failure 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-Failure Mortality (30-day)
How often patients admitted for heart failure survive 30 days. The headline outcome.
Heart-Failure Readmissions
Heart failure is the most-readmitted condition in U.S. hospitals. Lower means better discharge planning and outpatient care coordination.
Patient Experience (HCAHPS)
Clear discharge communication on weight monitoring, fluid limits, and medication timing prevents many readmissions.
When the cheapest hospital may not be the best fit
The list below sorts by price. For heart failure, 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.
- If you have advanced heart failure (low ejection fraction, prior hospitalizations), an advanced heart-failure program may be worth additional cost.
- If you're being considered for an LVAD or heart transplant, an academic medical center with a transplant program is typically the right setting.
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:
- Will any of my physicians (cardiologist, hospitalist) be out-of-network?
- What outpatient cardiology follow-up is scheduled? Is it in-network?
- Is there a heart-failure transitions-of-care program at this hospital?
Hospitals ranked by gross charge
- 1
Lowell General Hospital
Lowell, MA
Gross charge $10,333Cash pay $7,233 - 2
MelroseWakefield Hospital
Melrose, MA
Gross charge $10,333Cash pay $7,233 - 3
Tufts Medical Center
Boston, MA
Gross charge $10,333Cash pay $7,233 - 4
Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge, MA
Gross charge $22,822 - 5
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Newton, MA
Gross charge $31,999Cash pay $23,999 - 6
Umass Memorial Healthalliance Hospitals
Leominster, MA
Gross charge $32,440 - 7
Umass Memorial Health - Harrington Hospital
Southbridge, MA
Gross charge $32,440 - 8
Umass Memorial Healthcare-Marlborough Hospital
Marlborough, MA
Gross charge $32,440 - 9
Umass Memorial Medical Center/University Campus
Worcester, MA
Gross charge $32,440 - 10
Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Northampton, MA
Gross charge $36,626Cash pay $27,470 - 11
Mercy Medical Center
Springfield, MA
Gross charge $43,185Cash pay $23,752 - 12
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
Gross charge $50,464Cash pay $37,848 - 13
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, MA
Gross charge $67,559Cash pay $50,669 - 14
Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital
Jamaica Plain, MA
Gross charge $67,559Cash pay $50,669 - 15
Holyoke Medical Center
Holyoke, MA
Gross charge — - 16
Heywood Hospital
Gardner, MA
Gross charge — - 17
Athol Hospital
Athol, MA
Gross charge —
14 Massachusetts hospitals publish gross charges for heart failure (DRG 292). Prices range from $10,333 to $67,559 — roughly $57,226 apart. The cheapest is Lowell General Hospital in Lowell; the most expensive is Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain. The state average sits at $34,355.
These numbers are list prices — what the hospital bills before any insurance adjustment. 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 failure at twice the price of another typically negotiates higher rates with insurers too, and quotes more for uninsured patients.
You usually don't choose a hospital during an urgent heart failure admission. This page is for the planning side: patients with chronic conditions weighing their options, caregivers picking ahead of time, or employers comparing in-network facilities. Click any hospital name for its full quality profile — CMS overall star rating, mortality and readmission rates, patient-experience scores. When two nearby hospitals look similar on quality, the one with lower published charges is the safer default for routine medical admissions.
Pricing comes from each hospital's Machine-Readable File (MRF), published under the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Massachusetts hospitals missing from the list either don't perform heart failure in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 292 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.