Stent replacement isn’t a common procedure since stent placements are designed to be a permanent percutaneous coronary intervention procedure.
Balloon angioplasty with stents is the preferred permanent treatment for atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and coronary heart disease with impressive clinical outcomes.
However, a stent placement doesn’t treat the underlying conditions—meaning your arteries could still clog and require repeat revascularization.
Then there’s also the risk (although very rare) that the stents could fail and cause the narrowing of your blood vessel to recur.
When this happens, you’ll need a stent replacement.
The cost of a stent replacement, repeat revascularization, and other related healthcare procedures is a concern for many Americans.
Several hospitals and orthopedic centers offer subsidies and discounts for uninsured patients, but many Americans will likely still struggle to pay the balance.
Even with insurance, you might be required to settle the cost of annual deductibles, hospitalization, and medication.
Additionally, percutaneous coronary intervention costs may fluctuate depending on:
- The hospital
- The medical machines or interventional devices that you’ll need
- The diagnostic tests required (such as intravascular ultrasound or even cardiac catheterization)
- The length of your hospital stay (if your condition necessitates inpatient treatments and extensive patient care)
- Underlying medical conditions, such as a problem with blood clots or having more complex lesions
Finding a quality and affordable heart stent replacement service will require that you dig through stacks of offline and online data.
Although the federal government requires hospitals to openly provide information on the medical procedures they offer and their prices, they don’t always make it easy to find it.
Today we’ll let you in on the steps you’ll undergo during a stent replacement procedure and how hospitals calculate its cost. We’ll sample ten hospitals in Alabama and find out what they charge for a stent replacement procedure.
Table of Contents
- How is the Cost of Stent Replacement in Alabama Calculated?
- East Alabama Health
- The DCH Regional Medical Center
- Marshall Medical Center North
- St. Vincent’s East
- St. Vincent’s St. Clair
- Coosa Valley Medical Center
- Medical West
- Marshall Medical Center South
- North Baldwin Infirmary Medical Center
- St. Vincent’s Chilton
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Is the Cost of Stent Replacement in Alabama Calculated?
The cost of stent replacement is calculated according to the services you receive from the surgeons, technicians, and nurses.
Every patient’s condition is different, and some may require procedures that others don’t.
For instance, one patient may have multiple stents that require a replacement, while others may need just one stent replaced.
Similarly, some patients may experience complications during thoracic surgery and require extra procedures.
There are specific medical procedures that you’re likely to undergo during a stent replacement.
Medical Procedures That Constitute Your Hospital Bill
The process of replacing your stent encompasses several steps that will eventually constitute your hospital bill, assuming you don’t experience any complications during the procedure. They include:
- #1: Fluid Infusion: The surgical team will infuse medication and fluids into your veins using an intravenous line to help you relax throughout the process.
You’ll also receive anticoagulants (medication to stop your blood from clotting) through a catheter. Additionally, sedatives will be administered to help you relax, although you’ll be awake throughout the procedure. - #2: Monitoring Your Vital Life Signs: Your blood pressure and heart rate will be monitored throughout the procedure (using an electrocardiogram monitor). The professionals will also keep close tabs on your blood oxygen levels.
- #3: Sterilization: The surgeons will prepare the area where the current catheter is located using an antiseptic solution and spread a sterile sheep over you. They’ll then use a local anesthetic to numb the location of the stent.
- #4: Incisions: The surgeons will make a small incision through which they’ll remove the old stent and insert a thin guidewire into your blood vessel.
- #5: Positioning the Catheter: Using live x-rays, the surgeons will thread the catheter through your artery.
- #6: Dyeing: The surgeons will inject a contrast dye through the catheter so they can use angiograms to identify any additional blocked areas.
- #7: Balloon Insertion: Once the surgeons identify a blockage, they’ll inflate a tiny drug-coated balloon at the blocked area to widen the blocked artery.
- #8: Placing the Intracoronary Stents: Once the region is wide enough, the next step is intracoronary stents implantation, which in this case is the replacement stent, into the region to prevent the artery from closing or narrowing again.
Surgeons prefer a drug eluting stent because it’s coated with medicines that help to keep your blood vessels open.
The video below outlines the procedure of inserting the replacement stent.
Note: If the surgeon discovers more than one blockage, they’ll repeat steps seven and eight.
Once the stent is in position, your tissue will start coating the stent and form a layer of skin around it.
Depending on whether the surgeons use a drug eluting stent (has a medicinal coating) or an ordinary one, your tissue will align entirely within three to twelve months.
Your doctor may prescribe antiplatelets to decrease platelet stickiness and prevent stent thrombosis (or blood clots forming within the stent).
Blood clotting in your coronary artery is particularly harmful since it can trigger a heart attack if it blocks blood flow within your heart’s vessels.
Complications That May Increase Your Hospital Bill
Like other medical procedures, a stent replacement carries some risks. However, these risks are rare, and most of them are unlikely to result in serious health complications.
It’s common to experience bruising or bleeding where the doctors have inserted the stent, usually characterised by chest pain.
You may also experience more serious complications, including:
- Damage to the region of the artery where the surgeons inserted the stent that may require bypass surgery
- Allergic reactions to the dye
- Major bleed incidences that require a blood transfusion
- Stroke, heart attack, or even heart failure (if a clot develops due to the surgical procedure and blocks blood flow in your brain or heart)
Hospitals will typically bill you for each procedure you undergo. In some cases, they may outsource a surgeon, anesthetist, or any other specialist and charge you for it.
Now let’s do some average cost comparisons so you know what you’re likely to pay for a stent replacement surgery in ten Alabama hospitals.
East Alabama Health
East Alabama Health’s bill for a stent replacement depends on its location on your body. The hospital also offers you a discounted price if you pay in cash. The table below outlines some of the stent placement procedures and their charges.
| Name of procedure | Gross cost ($) | Discounted cash payment cost ($) |
| CTH tibial/peroneal stent with angio | 27,456 | 15,100 |
| CTH perc REVASC occ stent ATHR SGL | 17,067 | 9,386.85 |
| CTH Perc REVASC stent EA ADDL branch | 12,336 | 6,784 |
| CTH perc REVASC stent single vessel | 17,067 | 9,386.85 |
| CTH iliac angio with stent each add | 15,431 | 8,487.05 |
You can reach East Alabama Health on (334) 528-7728 to get updated on the current costs before booking your appointment.
The estimated total costs listed on the chargemaster change from time to time depending on several factors, including:
- Information from your insurance company
- Any alteration on your eligibility status
- Any treatment that may require outsourcing of physicians
- Treatment decisions made by your doctor at the time of seeking the surgical procedure
- The timing of your surgery in relation to your annual deductible and your plan year
- Changes in your deductible due
The DCH Regional Medical Center
The cost of stent implantation at the DHC Regional Medical Center also depends on the location that needs the replacement.
The table below shows the costs that you can expect for replacement stents in different parts of your body.
| Procedure name | Gross cost ($) | Cost after cash discount ($) |
| Revascularization, endovascular, open or percutaneous, femoral, popliteal artery(s), unilateral; with atherectomy, includes coronary stents within the same vessel when performed | 13,458 | 9,519 |
| Revascularization, endovascular, open or percutaneous, iliac artery, unilateral, initial vessel; with transluminal stent placement(s), includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed | 17,608 | 15,886 |
| Revascularization, endovascular, open or percutaneous, femoral, popliteal artery(s), unilateral; with transluminal angioplasty | 8,300 | 4,819 |
| Revascularization, endovascular, open or percutaneous, tibial, peroneal artery, unilateral, initial vessel; with atherectomy, includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed | 27,152 | 15,492 |
You can contact the DHC Regional Medical Center by dialing (205)481-7000.
Marshall Medical Center North
The quotation provided by the Marshall Medical Center North doesn’t include:
- Physician charges (the hospital will bill this separately)
- Tests and procedures ordered by technicians and physicians during the procedure
- Any interventions made due to complications
The estimated total cost of stent implantation at the Marshal Medical Center North is $7,498.84. You can reach the healthcare facility by dialing (256) 571-8000.
St. Vincent’s East
The only stent replacement procedure you can undergo at St. Vincent’s East is coronary angioplasty, and it costs $11,050. The hospital offers you a self-pay discount of $8,730 (79%), reducing the minor surgery’s estimated cost to $2,320.
This price can change upwards or downwards depending on the services that you may require.
Also, take note that this charge is inclusive of the following:
- Laboratory costs
- EKG
- X-ray
- Imaging
However, the estimated cost doesn’t include professional fees.
Also, the hospital states that the estimated cost of surgery may change at any time without notice. Thus, you may want to contact them on (205) 738-3000 to confirm charges before checking in.
St. Vincent’s St. Clair
Undergoing a coronary angioplasty procedure at St. Vincent’s St. Clair will cost you $11,528. The healthcare facility is one of the most cost-effective facilities in Alabama since it offers you a 79% self-pay discount of $9,107.
Thus, you’ll only be billed $2,421 in cash to undergo the procedure.
Note: This healthcare facility specializes only in stent placement and replacement related to your heart.
Like other St. Vincent hospitals, this estimated cost is inclusive of:
- Oxygen services
- Chest X rays
- Imaging
- CT scan
- EKG
- Pharmacy
You’ll have to settle the physician fees separately—especially if you’ve been attended to by other healthcare professionals apart from the surgeon who replaced the stent.
Coosa Valley Medical Center
Coosa Valley Medical Center offers various stent placements and replacement procedures. Each procedure is priced differently depending on its complexity and where it’s done in your body.
The table below summarizes the charges that you can expect at the hospital.
| Procedure | Gross Cost ($) | Discounted cost ($) |
| bare metal stent LC | 10,679.75 | 3,203.93 |
| Drug eluting stent ADDL vessel Ri | 11,818 | 3,545 |
| Drug eluting stent REVASC LD | 12,185.75 | 3,655.73 |
| ILIAC stent bilateral | 14,842.5 | 4,452.75 |
| LT FEM/POPL revasc stent and ather | 30,542.75 | 9,162.83 |
The average costs outlined on Coosa Valley Medical Center’s chargemaster don’t include negotiated insurance discounts and are subject to change without prior notice.
You can contact the hospital on (256) 401-4017 or send an email to price.estimates@cvhealth.net for a more accurate estimate of all out-of-pocket costs.
Medical West
The estimated cost for a stent replacement at the Medical West hospital is $11,476.57
If you have health insurance, the hospital invoices are first sent to the insurer for payment.
The insurance company will then pay for the services depending on the hospital’s negotiated contract and the advantages of the patient’s purchased insurance plan.
If the insurance company doesn’t pay the entire amount, the hospital may seek payment from you.
Medical West has implemented a discounted cash price for patients who don’t have insurance coverage. Thus, you can make a significant cost saving by paying cash.
This move is intended to provide financial equity for those who don’t have access to or can’t afford purchased health insurance.
For a stent replacement procedure, the hospital offers you a total contracted discount of $8,607.43; thus, your out-of-pocket costs will reduce to $2,869.14
Marshall Medical Center South
A stent replacement procedure at the Marshall Medical Center South will cost you $7,498. Unlike many healthcare facilities in Alabama, Marshall Medical Center South doesn’t offer cash payment contracted discounts.
You can contact the Marshall Medical Center South on (256) 593-8310.
North Baldwin Infirmary Medical Center
North Baldwin Infirmary Medical Center offers different types of stent placement and replacement procedures, as summarized in the table below.
| Procedure | Cost ($) |
| Cystoscopy w/ stent placement | 2,750 |
| Valve (c/r) (s) aortic supra stent 21mm | 10,374 |
| Stent-graft prosthesis (c/r) endo excluded | 18,190.90 |
| Stent (c) 6x120x75 innova self-expanding | 2,046 |
| Stent biliary balloon-expandable OTW VIS | 2,232 |
You can contact North Baldwin Infirmary Center on (251) 937 5521 for more information about the type of stent replacement you want done.
St. Vincent’s Chilton
To have your stent replaced (only coronary stenting placement and replacement services are available) at St Vincent’s Chilton, the hospital will charge you a full-service cost of $38,114. However, the facility will give you a discount of $30,110, so you only have to pay out-of-pocket charges amounting to $8,004.
The estimated cost is based on the average charges for similar procedures, and as such, your bill may be slightly different. The estimate is inclusive of services such as:
- Supplies
- Pharmacy
- Heart services
- Recovery room costs
- Laboratory charges
The amount that you’ll pay will depend on only the services that you receive.
You can contact St. Vincent’s Chilton on (205) 258 4400.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does My Coronary Angioplasty Bill Differ from the Charges Indicated on the Chargemaster?
Your net hospital bill for treating coronary angioplasty may differ from the amount listed on the chargemaster because the latter are just estimates.
Hospitals typically calculate the average amount that patients who require similar procedures pay, and this is what they write on the chargemaster.
Each patient’s condition is different, and one patient may require treatments that others don’t.
Hospitals will only charge you for the services you’ve received, and this is why the amount each patient pays may differ from that on the chargemaster.
How Will My Insurance Coverage Affect the Cost of Treating Coronary Artery Disease?
While some insurance companies may settle the entire cost of treating coronary artery disease, others will settle your bill partially. Other insurance companies may not cover some medical interventions involved in this treatment. Any charges not covered by insurance will have to be covered by you.
Typically, out-of-pocket charges paid by many patients with health insurance depend on factors such as:
- The amount negotiated under health insurance plans
- The amount established by state governments for Medicaid coverage
- The amount established by state governments for Medicare coverage
Be sure to make inquiries about the procedure with your insurance company before booking an appointment at the hospital.
How Can I Find a Cost Effectiveness Hospital for My Stent Replacement Procedure?
A stent replacement surgery usually involves many procedures which contribute towards your final bill. A cost effective hospital allows you to get all the procedures you need at a low rate.
Take a look at our hospital comparisons above, and you’ll see several cost effective hospitals that give you attractive cost-saving discounts.