Updated April 2026
Obstetric Procedures
2 Medicare DRGs in this category, averaging $7,156 per admission across 1,104,814 reported discharges. Prices range from $5,922 (Vaginal Delivery without Complicating Diagnoses) to $8,390 (Cesarean Section without CC/MCC).
Across the CMS inpatient dataset, 2 hospitals report payment data for Obstetric procedures, with an average of $7,156. Obstetric is one of the procedure categories CMS publishes for cross-hospital comparison. Vaginal Delivery without Complicating Diagnoses (across the dataset) is the lowest-cost reported facility for Obstetric, at $5,922. CMS payment data shows enough cross-hospital variation in Obstetric pricing that the choice of facility moves total cost meaningfully for any patient with elective scheduling.
These figures come from CMS Inpatient Payment files: actual Medicare payments per DRG code, averaged across discharges. The Medicare baseline is consistent across hospitals; commercial payer rates layer on top, but the Medicare floor is the publicly comparable anchor.
About Obstetric
This procedure category groups related Medicare DRGs. Cost spread across hospitals is driven by length of stay, case complexity, regional wage indexes, and whether the facility is an academic referral center.
Within HospitalCostData, every obstetric DRG is sourced from the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System and benchmarked against the national average for that exact DRG. The detail page for each procedure also lists the hospitals at the top and bottom of the price distribution. Quality measures are pulled separately from the CMS Hospital Compare program — risk-adjusted indicators of mortality, readmission, and patient experience that complement the price view.
Cost Range Across the Obstetric Cohort
Average Medicare payment across this cohort is $7,156. The lowest-priced DRG, Vaginal Delivery without Complicating Diagnoses, averages $5,922 across 2,713 hospitals. The highest, Cesarean Section without CC/MCC, averages $8,390 across 2,625. The widest hospital-to-hospital spread within the cohort sits at roughly 6× — the cheapest facility for Vaginal Delivery without Complicating Diagnoses reports $2,058 while the most expensive reports $12,217.
Spread that wide is normal in Medicare data and not a sign of price-gouging by itself. Differences come from regional wage indexes, hospital-acquired-complication adjustments, outlier payments, and case-mix complexity within the same DRG. The CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule publishes machine-readable rate files that allow patient-side comparisons against negotiated and cash-pay rates.
How to Read These Numbers
The averages on this page are based on Medicare-paid discharges only. They do not represent the chargemaster list price (which most patients never pay) or the rate a private insurer negotiates. For privately-insured patients, the relevant figure is usually the negotiated in-network rate published in the hospital's price-transparency file. For uninsured patients, the cash-pay rate is what matters — most large hospitals publish that separately.
Quality measures matter at least as much as price for a planned admission. The CMS Care Compare site publishes hospital-specific mortality, readmission, complication, and patient-experience scores. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) publishes the Patient Safety Indicators and Inpatient Quality Indicators that underlie many of these CMS measures.
HospitalCostData is informational only. Price differences are real and worth understanding, but they are one input alongside surgeon experience, hospital volume, and the specific clinical situation. Always discuss options with your physician before making a decision.
All Obstetric Procedures
Cesarean Section without CC/MCC
Avg: $8K|2,625 hospitals
Vaginal Delivery without Complicating Diagnoses
Avg: $6K|2,713 hospitals
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Obstetric category cover on HospitalCostData?
Obstetric groups 2 Medicare DRGs that share clinical or anatomical context. This procedure category groups related Medicare DRGs. Cost spread across hospitals is driven by length of stay, case complexity, regional wage indexes, and whether the facility is an academic referral center.
What is the average Medicare payment for obstetric procedures?
Across the 2 DRGs in this category, the average Medicare total payment is $7,156. The lowest-priced DRG is Vaginal Delivery without Complicating Diagnoses at $5,922, and the highest is Cesarean Section without CC/MCC at $8,390. These are Medicare averages — actual cost to a privately-insured patient depends on their plan, network, and deductible.
Why do prices vary so widely for the same procedure?
Within a single DRG, hospital-to-hospital prices commonly span 3× to 10× because of regional Medicare wage indexes, case-mix differences, teaching status, and outlier payments for unusually long or complex stays. Even in the same metro, the same DRG can list dramatically different totals — see the CMS Hospital Price Transparency files for negotiated rates.
Where does this data come from?
Procedure-level prices are sourced from the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), which publishes annual DRG-level payment data for every Medicare-participating hospital. Quality measures shown alongside hospitals come from the CMS Hospital Compare program. Both are public domain federal datasets.
Should I pick a hospital based on price alone?
No. HospitalCostData is informational, not a recommendation engine. Procedure cost is one input — quality of care, surgeon experience, facility volume, complication rates, and your own clinical situation matter at least as much. Always discuss options with your physician and consider quality data on Medicare Care Compare alongside any pricing benchmark.
See the methodology page for details on Medicare DRG payment data, scoring weights, and known limitations.
Sources & Citations
- CMS Medicare Inpatient Hospital Payments (IPPS). DRG-level average covered charges, total payments, and Medicare payments per facility. data.cms.gov
- CMS Hospital Compare (Care Compare). Star ratings, mortality, readmission, safety-of-care, and patient-experience measures. medicare.gov/care-compare
- CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Standard charge files required from every Medicare-participating hospital. cms.gov/hospital-price-transparency
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). National benchmarks, quality indicators, and clinical context for hospital outcome measures. ahrq.gov
Dataset last refreshed: April 2026. Underlying CMS files are public domain. Suggested citation: “HospitalCostData, hospitalcostdata.com, accessed May 24, 2026.”
This page is informational only and does not constitute medical, legal, or financial advice. Care decisions should be made with a licensed physician.
Source: CMS Hospital Price Transparency, 2026.