Does North Walton Doctors Hospital Take Medicare?
Yes — North Walton Doctors Hospital in Defuniak Springs, Florida is a Medicare-participating hospital. It appears in CMS Inpatient Payment files with documented payment data across 12 inpatient procedure types, averaging $21,620 per Medicare stay. It also operates an emergency department, so Medicare emergency coverage applies.
This page answers a common question about U.S. hospital cost and quality data: Does North Walton Doctors Hospital Take Medicare?. The answer draws on CMS Inpatient Payment files, CMS Hospital Compare quality measures, and the LakeQuality value rubric that combines both. Each underlying source is linked directly so the reasoning can be verified. Why this matters: U.S. hospital costs and quality vary by an order of magnitude between facilities for the same procedure, and the variation is not random — it correlates with hospital type, ownership, regional payment adjustments, and case mix. Understanding how to read the public CMS data is the difference between a defensible hospital choice and a coin flip.
The detailed answer below covers what the underlying data shows, the limitations of that data (the Medicare numbers do not directly tell you what commercial insurance pays, or what you will pay out of pocket), and how to translate the public numbers into the questions a patient or family actually has when comparing hospitals.
Medicare at a Glance: North Walton Doctors Hospital
- Medicare-participating
- Yes
- Emergency department
- Yes
- Hospital type
- Acute Care Hospitals
- Ownership
- Physician
- Procedure types reported
- 12
- Avg Medicare payment
- $21,620/stay
Source: CMS Inpatient Payment files and Hospital Compare. Participation status is inferred from CMS payment reporting — confirm benefits with your specific Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan.
What Medicare Covers at North Walton Doctors Hospital
North Walton Doctors Hospital appears in the CMS Inpatient Payment files, which only include hospitals enrolled in Medicare. That enrollment is what lets Medicare Part A pay for covered inpatient stays here. Across the 12 procedure types it reports, Medicare pays an average of $21,620 per stay, about $4,761 above the Florida average of $16,859.
Those figures are what Medicare pays the hospital — not what you pay. Under Original Medicare, inpatient (Part A) costs are driven by the annual deductible and benefit-period coinsurance, not by the hospital's billed amount. Because North Walton Doctors Hospital runs an emergency department, Medicare emergency coverage applies, and the No Surprises Act caps balance billing for out-of-network emergency care.
If you have Medicare Advantage (Part C) rather than Original Medicare, coverage at North Walton Doctors Hospital depends on whether the hospital is in your plan's network — call the number on your plan card to confirm before a scheduled procedure. A Medigap supplement can absorb much of the Part A deductible and coinsurance for Original Medicare enrollees.
Key Data
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CMS Quality Rating | 0/5 |
| Outcome Score | 50/100 |
| Value Grade | D |
| Avg Payment | $21,620 |
| Mortality Better / Worse | 0 / 0 |
| Safety Better / Worse | 0 / 0 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. North Walton Doctors Hospital is a Medicare-participating hospital — it reports payment data to the CMS Inpatient Payment files, which means Medicare covers eligible inpatient and outpatient services there. The data on this page reflects average Medicare payments for inpatient stays; your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your specific Medicare plan, any supplemental (Medigap) coverage, and the procedure.
Yes. North Walton Doctors Hospital operates an emergency department. Under Medicare, emergency care is covered at participating hospitals, and the No Surprises Act limits balance billing for out-of-network emergency services.
North Walton Doctors Hospital averages $21,620 per Medicare inpatient stay across the 12 procedure types it reports — above the Florida average of $16,859 and above the national average of $15,878. This is what Medicare pays, not your copay — Part A inpatient costs are governed by the annual deductible and benefit-period rules.
North Walton Doctors Hospital has a CMS quality rating of 0/5 and an Outcome Score of 50/100. Mortality outcomes are at the national average.
North Walton Doctors Hospital's average procedure payment of $21,620 is $4,761 above the Florida state average of $16,859, and $5,742 above the national average of $15,878.
More about North Walton Doctors Hospital
Yes — North Walton Doctors Hospital in Defuniak Springs, Florida is a Medicare-participating hospital. It appears in CMS Inpatient Payment files with documented payment data across 12 inpatient procedure types, averaging $21,620 per Medicare stay. It also operates an emergency department, so Medicare emergency coverage applies.
Source: CMS Hospital Price Transparency, 2026.