MS‑DRG 208: Respiratory System Diagnosis with Ventilator Support <=96 Hours

What Medicare paid hospitals for MS‑DRG 208 in 2024: nationally, state by state and across hospitals.

Paid per case$21,9941.5× the all-DRG average

Discharges21,8350.44% of all Medicare discharges

Total paid$480.2M43rd largest MS‑DRG by spending

Hospitals990in 49 states and DC

Charges ÷ paid6.5×$142,566 average charge

Relative weight2.7506FY2027, 4.8-day geometric mean stay; FY2026 2.7487 (+0.1%)

In 2024 Medicare paid hospitals an average of $21,994 per discharge for MS‑DRG 208, across 21,835 fee-for-service discharges at 990 hospitals: 0.44% of all Medicare inpatient discharges and $480.2M in total, the 43rd largest MS‑DRG by Medicare spending.

By state, the average ran from $17,087 in West Virginia to $30,256 in California. Across hospitals, half were paid between $17,995 and $24,206 per case, and the median hospital $20,340; the payment moves with each hospital’s wage index, teaching and low-income share, and with outlier cases.

Hospitals charged $142,566 on average for these stays, 6.5 times what Medicare paid: charges are list prices, while Medicare pays a fixed amount per MS‑DRG.

See MS‑DRG 208 on the interactive map Price an MS‑DRG 208 claim at any hospital Every MS‑DRG

What changed in FY2027

The rates for discharges from October 1, 2026 (MS‑DRG version 44) against FY2026.

MS‑DRG 208, FY2026 and FY2027
	FY2026	FY2027	Change
Relative weight	2.7487	2.7506	+0.1%
Geometric mean stay (days)	4.9	4.8	−0.1
Average stay (days)	7.1	7.0	−0.1

Not capped: the +0.1% is CMS’s yearly recalibration of every weight from recent claims and cost data.
Name, MDC and transfer status are unchanged.

FY2027 national base payment (illustration)

$20,321.30

The FY2027 weight times the operating standardized amount and the capital rate ($6,848.00 + $539.95) at a wage index of 1.0. No IME, DSH, outlier or other hospital-specific adjustment, so it is not what any hospital is paid; price it at a hospital for that.

FY2027 inpatient rates: what else changed on October 1 · Price MS‑DRG 208 at a hospital

Paid per case, by state

MS‑DRG 208 by state, 2024
State	Paid per case	Discharges	Hospitals	Charges ÷ paid
Maryland*	$30,389	562	25	1.2×
California	$30,256	2,095	105	8.1×
New York	$28,550	1,218	53	5.8×
District of Columbia	$27,844	54	3	6.2×
Connecticut	$27,281	202	9	4.5×
Massachusetts	$26,116	437	17	3.3×
Minnesota	$26,005	277	11	4.2×
Oregon	$25,624	149	9	3.9×
Hawaii	$25,364	57	3	4.3×
Alaska	$24,624	39	2	11.5×
New Jersey	$23,712	758	34	8.2×
Nevada	$22,826	384	13	12.2×
Washington	$22,383	420	23	5.5×
Rhode Island	$22,182	36	2	3.9×
Pennsylvania	$21,746	801	38	7.6×
Arizona	$21,636	354	20	6.3×
New Hampshire	$21,378	103	6	5.0×
Wisconsin	$21,224	295	13	5.0×
South Dakota	$21,218	129	3	5.7×
Georgia	$20,983	567	29	6.0×
Nebraska	$20,973	99	5	4.3×
New Mexico	$20,805	34	2	3.0×
Maine	$20,596	59	3	5.5×
Delaware	$20,388	109	3	4.8×
Illinois	$20,346	938	43	5.5×
Michigan	$20,320	570	28	4.2×
North Carolina	$20,257	561	26	4.5×
Colorado	$20,091	123	5	10.1×
Utah	$20,084	84	5	4.7×
Missouri	$19,984	491	22	5.8×
Montana	$19,814	72	5	4.0×
Florida	$19,765	1,912	82	8.2×
Idaho	$19,749	126	5	5.6×
Texas	$19,614	1,900	80	9.1×
North Dakota	$19,590	95	5	4.3×
Kansas	$19,533	187	10	8.3×
Vermont	$19,341	39	2	4.8×
Indiana	$19,175	476	22	5.0×
Ohio	$19,101	778	38	5.5×
Iowa	$19,070	201	8	4.6×
South Carolina	$18,857	451	16	6.3×
Virginia	$18,831	595	25	6.5×
Oklahoma	$18,526	483	17	6.8×
Kentucky	$18,180	378	18	5.4×
Louisiana	$17,647	350	16	6.5×
Alabama	$17,595	229	13	6.0×
Arkansas	$17,485	376	16	4.9×
Mississippi	$17,459	345	15	5.9×
Tennessee	$17,262	620	26	6.3×
West Virginia	$17,087	217	11	5.0×
United States	$21,994	21,835	990	6.5×

* Maryland hospitals are paid under the state’s all-payer model, not the IPPS, so Maryland is left out of the state range above.

How much hospitals vary

Each hospital’s own average Medicare payment for MS‑DRG 208.

10th percentile	$16,692
25th percentile	$17,995
Median hospital	$20,340
75th percentile	$24,206
90th percentile	$29,252

The same condition at other severities

207Respiratory System Diagnosis with Ventilator Support >96 Hours · $57,276

Nearby MS‑DRG numbers

Questions

What did Medicare pay for MS‑DRG 208 in 2024?

An average of $21,994 per discharge across 21,835 fee-for-service discharges at 990 hospitals, $480.2M in total.

Which state paid the most for MS‑DRG 208?

California, at $30,256 per case; West Virginia paid the least, $17,087.

Where do these figures come from?

From the Medicare Inpatient Hospitals - by Provider and Service (data year 2024): the published hospital-by-DRG averages of Medicare fee-for-service inpatient discharges in 2024. Cells with fewer than 11 discharges are not published, so a hospital with a handful of cases is not counted. Average Medicare payment excludes the patient’s deductible and coinsurance.