What was the most expensive hospital bill?
Asked by: Emmanuelle Hoppe | Last update: September 23, 2025Score: 4.2/5 (29 votes)
What was the most expensive hospital bill ever?
It's also not surprising that likely the most expensive hospital bill ever also took place in the U.S. in Florida, worth $9.2 million. According to McKinsey & Company, the healthcare industry is expected to demonstrate growth of 4 percent CAGR from 2021 to 2016, where it will likely reach profits of $790 billion.
What is the most expensive thing in a hospital?
Currently, exploratory chest surgery, a pre-diagnostic surgery that physicians perform to better diagnose or treat an illness, is the most expensive hospital procedure, costing an average of $137,533. Employers can help employees manage their medical costs by offering a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA).
What is the largest expense of a hospital?
In a healthcare facility or hospital the most significant expense is compensation of employees as well as benefits and payroll taxes related to these costs. Wage expenses represent about 55% - 65%. Supplies and services account for the next largest expense, followed by depreciation.
What is the most expensive treatment in a hospital?
Exploratory chest surgery is among the most expensive medical procedures globally, with U.S. hospitals charging an average of $137,533 per procedure, making it the costliest single medical procedure in the country.
Why Medical Bills In The US Are So Expensive
How expensive can hospital bills be?
Meanwhile, in California, an average stay costs $18,815 and workers earn an average of $37.44 hourly. With residents needing to work 503 hours to afford a stay, California is in third. While California has the fourth-highest average hourly earnings, it also has the highest hospital stay costs of any state.
What is the highest surgery cost?
Heart transplants top the list as the most expensive medical procedure in 2024. The complexity of the surgery, the need for donor matching, and the lifelong post-transplant care contribute to the high cost. The average cost of a heart transplant in the United States is approximately $1.3 million.
Why are US hospital bills so expensive?
There are many possible reasons for that increase in healthcare prices: The introduction of new, innovative healthcare technology can lead to better, more expensive procedures and products. The complexity of the U.S. healthcare system can lead to administrative waste in the insurance and provider payment systems.
What is the highest expense in the hospital budget?
The biggest expense for hospitals is employee salaries. According to HospitalView data, on average, salary expenses are more than one-third of total hospital operating expenses.
What unit makes the most money in a hospital?
- Cardiovascular Surgery: $3,697,916. ...
- Invasive Cardiology: $3,484,375. ...
- Neurosurgery: $3,437,500. ...
- Orthopedic Surgery: $3,286,764. ...
- Gastroenterology: $2,965,277. ...
- Hematology/Oncology: $2,855,000. ...
- General Surgery: $2,707,317. ...
- Internal Medicine: $2,675,387.
Which disease is most expensive to treat?
- Heart disease $58bn (17 million)
- Cancer $46bn (9 million)
- Trauma $44bn (37 million)
- Mental disorders $30bn (20 million)
- Diabetes $20bn (10 million)
- Hypertension $18bn (27 million)
- Cerebrovascular disease $16bn (2 million)
- Osteoarthritis $16bn, (16 million)
What is the most expensive back surgery?
Lumbar Spinal Fusion
The direct costs are astronomical and may reach as high as $169,000 for a lumbar fusion and $112,000 for a cervical fusion!
What is the most expensive hospital drug?
Lenmeldy (atidarsagene autotemcel) is the most expensive drug on the market with a steep price tag of $4.25m. The gene therapy is developed for children with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a potentially fatal disorder caused by a mutation in the arylsulfatase-A (ARSA) gene, which leads to the buildup of fats.
What is the world's most expensive bill?
As previously reported by GOBankingRates, the most valuable bill in the world might be an 1890 U.S. Grand Watermelon $1,000 treasury note valued at $3.3 million.
Why do hospitals charge so much for Tylenol?
According to AHA, the chargemaster aggregates the hospital's overall costs on delivering quality care to patients: “In order to take medications in a hospital, even over-the-counter medicines, they must be prescribed by a doctor (a little bit of cost for the doctor), that order gets transmitted to the pharmacy (a ...
What is a hospital's biggest expense?
Wages, Benefits, and Labor Costs
While percentages vary from hospital to hospital, across the board the biggest expense for hospitals are wages and benefits which on average account for 56% of the total expense of a hospital.
How much is a hospital bill without insurance?
The average per-day hospital cost in the U.S. is $2,883, with California ($4,181) the most expensive, and Mississippi ($1,305) the least. The average hospital stay is 4.6 days, at an average cost of $13,262. If surgery is involved, hospital costs soar through the roof.
Who has the highest healthcare costs in the world?
Health Expenditure in the U.S.
The United States is the highest spending country worldwide when it comes to health care. In 2022, total health expenditure in the U.S. exceeded four trillion dollars. Expenditure as a percentage of GDP is projected to increase to approximately 20 percent by the year 2031.
What happens in America if you can't afford healthcare?
Americans are no longer taxed for not carrying health insurance. Medical debt contributes to a large number of bankruptcies in America. Access to quality primary care is critical, but doctors have the right to refuse patients without insurance or who are able to pay out-of-pocket expenses.
Which country has free healthcare?
All but 43 countries in the world have free healthcare or access to universal healthcare for at least 90% of their citizens according to Hudson's Global Residence Index. However, Brazil is the only country in the world that offers free healthcare for all its citizens.
What is the number 1 painful surgery?
In general, research has found that orthopedic surgeries, or those involving bones, are the most painful. However, researchers also found that some minor surgeries or those classed as keyhole or laparoscopic could also cause significant pain.
What is the cheapest surgery?
Cataract surgery is the least expensive on our list with an average cost of about $3,441. In this procedure, a cloudy eye lens is removed and typically replaced with an artificial lens. With either having cataracts or having had surgery to correct it, it is one of the most common and regularly performed surgery.
What is the #1 surgery in the nation?
An appendectomy is the most common surgery in the US when it comes to general surgery.