Research · Q2 2026
Hospital Price Transparency: cash-price spread across U.S. hospitals, Q2 2026
We analyzed published Hospital Price Transparency files from a curated set of U.S. hospitals to characterize the variation in cash-pay prices for twelve commonly-billed procedures. For every featured procedure, the published cash price varies by a factor of one hundred or more across hospitals. We compare median cash prices to Medicare-allowed amounts from the CMS Physician Fee Schedule.
Last reviewed June 2026 · MediBill Saver Editorial Team
At a glance
- We analyzed 185,649 rate observations from 1,224 hospitals across 56 states.
- Published cash prices vary by at least 100× for every featured procedure; the widest spread observed was 6,304× on CPT 83036 (hemoglobin a1c).
- The procedure with the highest median cash ÷ Medicare allowed ratio in our sample was CT head, no contrast (CPT 70450) at 10.65× the Medicare-allowed amount.
- HPT data is current as of May 12, 2026. Sample is the federally-mandated HPT files published by each hospital under 45 CFR §180.50.
Scope
The analysis covers federally-licensed U.S. hospitals whose Hospital Price Transparency files are present in the dataset MediBill Saver ingests. Our HPT ingest covers a subset of U.S. hospitals; we do not extrapolate from this sample to publication compliance across all hospitals. The cash-pay figures shown are what each hospital publishes in its own HPT file; we do not characterize the published prices as appropriate or inappropriate.
Coverage in this analysis:
- 1,224 hospitals contributing rate data.
- 2,974 distinct CPT/HCPCS codes observed.
- 185,649 individual rate rows across all hospitals and rate types.
- 56 U.S. states represented.
Top five states by federally-registered hospital count:
- TX 465
- CA 378
- FL 222
- OH 196
- IL 194
Findings — cash price vs. Medicare allowed amount
For each featured procedure we report the median published cash-pay price across all hospitals in our HPT sample, compare it against the corresponding Medicare-allowed amount from the CMS Physician Fee Schedule (national, non-locality-adjusted), and show the price spread observed across hospitals. Procedures are grouped by category.
Imaging
| CPT | Procedure | Hospitals | Median cash | Medicare allowed | Median ÷ Medicare | Max ÷ Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70450 | CT head, no contrast | 794 | $1,172.90 | $110.18 | 10.65× | 193× |
| 71045 | Chest x-ray, single view | 791 | $207.00 | $26.23 | 7.89× | 2,064× |
| 76700 | Abdominal ultrasound, complete | 765 | $632.06 | $118.23 | 5.35× | 1,162× |
| 70551 | MRI brain, no contrast | 747 | $1,748.00 | $202.18 | 8.65× | 288× |
Lab
| CPT | Procedure | Hospitals | Median cash | Medicare allowed | Median ÷ Medicare | Max ÷ Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80048 | Basic metabolic panel | 747 | $93.00 | — | — | 290× |
| 80053 | Comprehensive metabolic panel | 739 | $127.35 | — | — | 2,447× |
| 80061 | Lipid panel | 729 | $94.50 | — | — | 359× |
| 83036 | Hemoglobin A1c | 698 | $68.70 | — | — | 6,304× |
| 84443 | Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) | 685 | $94.20 | — | — | 604× |
| 85025 | Complete blood count with differential | 683 | $65.88 | — | — | 474× |
Visit
| CPT | Procedure | Hospitals | Median cash | Medicare allowed | Median ÷ Medicare | Max ÷ Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99213 | Office visit, established patient, level 3 | 431 | $146.30 | $97.78 | 1.50× | 605× |
| 99214 | Office visit, established patient, level 4 | 387 | $176.50 | $139.16 | 1.27× | 61× |
Findings — full price-spread distribution
The same procedures, with the published cash price at five points of the distribution — minimum, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile, maximum — across the hospitals that publish each code. These figures answer the question “what range of cash prices is published for the same procedure across U.S. hospitals.”
| CPT | Procedure | Min | P25 | Median | P75 | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70450 | CT head, no contrast | $39.07 | $808.49 | $1,172.90 | $1,642.50 | $7,526.00 |
| 71045 | Chest x-ray, single view | $11.17 | $135.00 | $207.00 | $271.00 | $23,056.67 |
| 76700 | Abdominal ultrasound, complete | $12.00 | $421.80 | $632.06 | $849.36 | $13,938.97 |
| 70551 | MRI brain, no contrast | $37.44 | $1,146.60 | $1,748.00 | $2,427.00 | $10,764.00 |
| 80048 | Basic metabolic panel | $5.36 | $55.51 | $93.00 | $147.71 | $1,554.60 |
| 80053 | Comprehensive metabolic panel | $6.62 | $72.64 | $127.35 | $191.32 | $16,200.00 |
| 80061 | Lipid panel | $3.83 | $60.16 | $94.50 | $144.50 | $1,375.12 |
| 83036 | Hemoglobin A1c | $2.95 | $42.61 | $68.70 | $97.00 | $18,597.80 |
| 84443 | Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) | $1.22 | $67.52 | $94.20 | $138.71 | $736.35 |
| 85025 | Complete blood count with differential | $2.14 | $41.77 | $65.88 | $95.22 | $1,013.34 |
| 99213 | Office visit, established patient, level 3 | $13.88 | $91.28 | $146.30 | $226.80 | $8,402.24 |
| 99214 | Office visit, established patient, level 4 | $39.68 | $121.32 | $176.50 | $252.71 | $2,425.81 |
Methodology
Data sources.Hospital Price Transparency files published by U.S. hospitals under 45 CFR §180.50; CMS Physician Fee Schedule rates published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under 42 USC §1395w-4; CMS Hospital Compare facility registry. All three sources are public-domain federal data (17 USC §105). See /methodology for the source-by-source documentation.
Cash-pay aggregation. For each featured CPT we union published rates labeled as cash-pay, self-pay, discounted cash, or similar variants (HPT files use inconsistent column labels across hospitals). Zero and negative values are excluded as data-quality artifacts. Percentiles are computed with percentile_disc on the de-duplicated rate set.
Medicare comparison. For each CPT we use the most-recent national-average CMS Physician Fee Schedule rate (modifier-blank). Locality geographic-practice-cost adjustments are not applied; published HPT cash prices are not locality-adjusted either, so the comparison is like-for-like.
What this is and isn’t.The report describes the variation in published cash prices across our HPT sample. It is not a claim about what hospitals should charge; hospitals legally set their own prices. It is not an audit of any individual hospital. Higher published cash prices do not imply higher paid prices — most patients pay insurance-negotiated rates, charity-care discounts, or self-pay discounts off the published cash price.
Foundation methodology DOI. The audit’s cross-source methodology is published on Zenodo at 10.5281/zenodo.20232731 under CC BY 4.0.
How to cite
MediBill Saver Editorial Team. (2026). Hospital Price Transparency: cash-price spread across U.S. hospitals, Q2 2026. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20320259
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20320259 · CC BY 4.0
- Zenodo record: https://zenodo.org/record/20320259
- Concept DOI (groups all future versions):
10.5281/zenodo.20320258
Reporters and editors who would like a press summary, charts, or a methodology call can email press@medibillsaver.com.
Editorial standard
Per the editorial standard documented across our research, this analysis states facts, cites sources, and does not characterize any hospital, provider, or insurer. It does not claim what a charge should cost. Findings are framed as comparisons against federal benchmarks; underlying data is public and verifiable. See /press for the guidance we ask reporters to follow.