ClearchargeEffingham Health System
What this hospital charges
Every figure below is from this hospital's own published price file, compared against hospitals within 50 miles. That radius crosses a state line, so the comparison includes hospitals in SC. Nothing here is a bill or a quote.
Outpatient services cash price · what a self-pay patient is quoted for one service
This hospital publishes no prices for these admissions — either it does not provide these services or its file does not list them.
There is no combined total here, on purpose. Inpatient rows are negotiated rates — what an insurer pays for a whole admission. Outpatient rows are cash prices — what a self-pay patient is quoted for one service. They are different kinds of number and adding them would produce a figure that is true of nobody. Both exclude physician fees: the surgeon, anesthesiologist and radiologist bill separately and appear in no hospital price file. Inpatient figures use only rates published as a case rate or fee schedule, which cover the whole stay — per-diem rates price a single day and are excluded. What you personally owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance, and on any financial assistance you qualify for.
What its departments cost to run
Every price above is a charge. This hospital's own Medicare cost report says what each department spent last year against what it billed.
| Department | It billed | It spent | Its charges were |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiology-Diagnostic | $73.2m | $5.8m | 13× what it spent |
| Emergency | $41.8m | $4.9m | 9× what it spent |
| Medical Supplies Charged To Patient | $3.6m | $522k | 7× what it spent |
| Anesthesiology | $5.3m | $1.1m | 5× what it spent |
| Physical Therapy | $2.7m | $672k | 4× what it spent |
| Intravenous Therapy | $44.6m | $11.8m | 4× what it spent |
| Drugs Charged To Patients | $9.0m | $4.3m | 2× what it spent |
| Laboratory | $9.8m | $4.7m | 2× what it spent |
| Respiratory Therapy | $3.8m | $1.9m | 2× what it spent |
From Effingham Health System's Medicare cost report for the year ending 30 June 2024. Showing the 9 departments furthest from their costs, of 17. Across the whole hospital, charges were about 3.6× what it spent.
These are department-wide totals for a year, not the cost of any one procedure. A hospital's costs include its staff, its equipment, and its share of the building and administration. This does not tell you what you will be charged, and it does not tell you what you will owe — see how these figures are produced.
Quality & outcomes
Mortality & complications
Readmissions
Infections
Emergency department
Patient experience
Financial assistance
This is a government-owned hospital. It isn't bound by the federal nonprofit rule (IRC 501(r)), but many public hospitals have their own charity-care obligations under state or local law.
Open this hospital’s website →Nonprofit hospitals must post their financial assistance policy publicly, but they file it in different places. Search the site for “financial assistance,” “charity care” or “patient financial services,” and ask the billing office to send you the policy and the application if you cannot find them.
Could you qualify?
Hospital financial assistance is almost always based on your household income compared with the federal poverty level. This works out roughly where you fall. What you type stays in your browser — it is never sent to us or to anyone else.
- Call the billing office and say: “I’d like to apply for your financial assistance policy.” Ask them to send you the application and their income limits.
- Apply even if the bill is months old. Nonprofit hospitals must accept financial assistance applications for at least 240 days after your first bill — that is a legal minimum, not a deadline, and many hospitals accept them later, including after a bill has gone to collections. Ask rather than assume you have missed it.
- Ask whether your bill already reflects assistance. It often isn’t applied automatically, even for patients who would qualify.
- For care you haven’t had yet, if you’re uninsured or paying cash, ask for a Good Faith Estimate in writing before you schedule. Federal law entitles you to one, and if the final bill lands more than $400 above it you can dispute the difference — see how the No Surprises Act works.
- If you don’t qualify for a discount, ask about an interest-free payment plan — those are usually available regardless of income.
Everything about financial assistance at this hospital → — who qualifies, how to apply, a letter you can send instead of phoning, and a version you can print.
See how financial assistance works for the rules behind this and what the policies can cover.
Nearby federally funded health centers
These charge on a sliding scale based on your household income, and see patients whether or not you have insurance. Call ahead to ask what your visit would cost.
From HRSA's public Health Center directory. Federally funded health centers set their fees on a sliding scale by household income and cannot turn you away for inability to pay. They are not free clinics, and this list does not include Georgia's free and charitable clinics, which are separate organizations.
Nearby free and charitable clinics
Volunteer and donation-funded clinics treating uninsured patients free or for a small fee — not the same as the federally funded health centers above, and most keep limited hours. Listed by the Georgia Charitable Care Network, whose directory is not exhaustive.