Updated April 2026
Childrens
94 childrens report a Medicare total-payment average of $16,752, with an average CMS Hospital Compare star rating of 0.0. Under the HospitalCostData Value Score the cohort runs 0% A and 0% F.
Children's hospitals are pediatric-specialty facilities. 94 appear in our CMS payment dataset. The CMS Hospital Compare measure set is different for children's hospitals than for general acute care, so cross-comparisons require care.
Pediatric quality measures and pediatric payment data are reported separately from the general adult measure set. Cross-comparing a children's hospital against an adult acute-care hospital using the standard CMS measures usually produces misleading results.
About Childrens
Children's Hospitals specialize in pediatric care and are reimbursed under different payment systems than adult hospitals. Procedures, case mix, and outcome measures are not directly comparable to general acute-care facilities.
Hospital type is one of the most important contextual filters for any Medicare cost comparison because the underlying payment system varies. Acute-care hospitals are paid under IPPS DRG weights; rehabilitation, psychiatric, long-term-care, and children's facilities each operate under different CMS prospective payment systems. The childrens cohort spans 94 hospitals, large enough that averages reflect the segment but small enough that high-volume outliers can move the mean noticeably.
Cost Picture for Childrens
Average payments for childrens prices out close to the national Medicare baseline, within roughly 6% of the national average. That puts it in the broad middle band of US hospital reimbursement — typical of community and regional facilities away from the most expensive metros.
Average payments alone do not capture the patient experience. For most patients, the relevant figures are the negotiated commercial rate or cash-pay rate published in each hospital's machine-readable file under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Medicare data tells the federal-payer story; commercial rates can run materially higher.
Quality Distribution Within Childrens
CMS Hospital Compare measures are not uniformly applicable across hospital types. Acute-care facilities report the full set of mortality, readmission, and patient-experience measures; specialty hospitals (children's, psychiatric, rehab, LTCH) report a narrower set. The cohort average star rating of 0.0 should be read with that caveat.
For deeper review, the CMS Care Compare site publishes hospital-specific measure detail. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators and Inpatient Quality Indicators feed many of the underlying measures and are useful for comparing acute-care facilities.
All Childrens
Frequently Asked Questions
What are childrens?
Children's Hospitals specialize in pediatric care and are reimbursed under different payment systems than adult hospitals. Procedures, case mix, and outcome measures are not directly comparable to general acute-care facilities.
How many childrens are in this cohort?
94 Medicare-participating childrens are tracked in the current dataset. The childrens cohort spans 94 hospitals, large enough that averages reflect the segment but small enough that high-volume outliers can move the mean noticeably.
What does childrens reimbursement look like under Medicare?
Average Medicare total payment across the cohort is $16,752. Average payments for childrens prices out close to the national Medicare baseline, within roughly 6% of the national average. That puts it in the broad middle band of US hospital reimbursement — typical of community and regional facilities away from the most expensive metros.
Are quality measures comparable across hospital types?
Not always. CMS Hospital Compare measures are tuned to general acute-care hospitals; specialty categories (children's, psychiatric, rehabilitation, long-term care) report different measure sets. Average CMS star rating in this cohort is 0.0, but direct cross-type comparisons should be made carefully.
Where does the hospital-type classification come from?
Hospital type is reported during Medicare certification and published in the CMS Provider of Services file and on Care Compare. We use the CMS-reported value verbatim.
Other Hospital Types
3,116 hospitals · Avg payment $16K
1,376 hospitals · Avg payment $14K
633 hospitals · Avg payment $17K
132 hospitals · Avg payment $16K
39 hospitals · Avg payment $14K
32 hospitals · Avg payment $18K
See the methodology page for hospital-type sourcing and CMS payment-system context.
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 July 9, 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.