Updated April 2026
Department of Defense Hospitals
32 department of defense hospitals report a Medicare total-payment average of $17,716, with an average CMS Hospital Compare star rating of 0.0. The cohort is 0% A-grade and 0% F-grade under the HospitalCostData Value Score.
Department of Defense ownership is outside the three dominant categories (non-profit, for-profit, government). 32 Department of Defense hospitals appear in CMS payment data, averaging $17,716.
Grade distribution across the 32 Department of Defense hospitals reflects facility-specific cost-and-quality combinations, not the ownership category per se. Cross-referencing ownership against the LakeQuality value grade is most useful when controlling for hospital size, urban-rural setting, and patient mix.
About Department of Defense Hospitals
This ownership category captures hospitals organized under a less common governance model. Pricing, case mix, and quality metrics depend heavily on the specific facility rather than the category alone.
Ownership type captured here is the value reported to CMS during Medicare certification. Several US hospital systems span more than one ownership category through subsidiary structures or joint ventures, so the cohort is best read as a directional signal rather than a strict legal classification. The department of defense cohort tracked here is small — 32 facilities — so individual hospital characteristics weigh heavily in the averages.
Cost Profile of the Department of Defense Cohort
Average payments across the department of defense cohort runs above the national Medicare payment baseline, about 12% over the national average. Higher payments often correlate with academic medical centers, denser metros, larger case mixes, and Medicare wage indexes calibrated to higher-cost labor markets.
Independent academic research has documented that average charges, length of stay, and case mix all differ across hospital ownership categories — but those averages mask wide variation within each group. For a planned admission, the more useful number is the hospital-specific Medicare DRG payment in the relevant procedure category, paired with the hospital's CMS Care Compare measures.
Quality Distribution
Across rated hospitals in the cohort, the average CMS Hospital Compare star rating is 0.0 out of 5. Under the HospitalCostData Value Score, the cohort distributes as 0 A, 1 B, 23 C, 8 D, and 0 F. The Value Score is editorial — it combines payment data with the CMS quality measures and is meant to surface cost-quality interactions, not replace clinical judgment.
For deeper review, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) publishes the Patient Safety Indicators and Inpatient Quality Indicators that feed many CMS measures. Hospital-specific machine-readable rate files are required under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule for non-Medicare benchmarks.
All Department of Defense Hospitals
Frequently Asked Questions
What are department of defense hospitals?
This ownership category captures hospitals organized under a less common governance model. Pricing, case mix, and quality metrics depend heavily on the specific facility rather than the category alone.
How many department of defense hospitals are in this cohort?
32 US Medicare-participating hospitals fall under the Department of Defense ownership category in the current dataset. The department of defense cohort tracked here is small — 32 facilities — so individual hospital characteristics weigh heavily in the averages.
Are department of defense hospitals more expensive on average?
Average Medicare total payment across the department of defense cohort is $17,716. Average payments across the department of defense cohort runs above the national Medicare payment baseline, about 12% over the national average. Higher payments often correlate with academic medical centers, denser metros, larger case mixes, and Medicare wage indexes calibrated to higher-cost labor markets.
Do ownership categories predict CMS quality ratings?
Loosely, but not strongly. Across the department of defense cohort, the average CMS Hospital Compare star rating is 0.0 (rated facilities only). Ownership tends to influence pricing more than headline quality measures, though specific clinical domains vary widely facility to facility.
Where does this ownership classification come from?
Ownership type is reported by hospitals to CMS during Medicare certification and published as part of the Provider of Services file and CMS Hospital Compare metadata. We use the CMS-reported value verbatim.
See the methodology page for Value Score weights and ownership-classification sourcing.
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.