Price it before care
The cheapest moment to fix a medical bill is before it exists. Once a procedure is on the calendar, three facts decide most of what it will cost: the exact CPT code on the order, the setting where it happens, and whether the price you were given covers every layer that will bill. Those facts can all be settled with a phone call and a written estimate, but only if you ask in the right order.
The guides in this section follow that order. Start with the code, because a price quoted for the wrong code is not a price. Then compare settings, because a hospital outpatient department and an independent imaging center or surgery center are paid under different Medicare systems for the same work. Then ask for the all-in cash price, and if you are uninsured or not using insurance, ask for it as a Good Faith Estimate, which carries federal dispute rights when the bill comes in $400 or more above it.
Every price on this site is a dated Medicare anchor, not a quote. Use the anchors to judge order of magnitude, then get the real figure from the facility in writing before service.
How to ask for the cash price
The wording for the billing call, the layers a complete quote names, and the day-of-change question most callers skip.
Good Faith Estimates and the No Surprises Act
Who is entitled to a written estimate, what it must list, and the $400 rule that opens a federal dispute.
Questions to ask billing before your procedure
A call checklist for code, setting, anesthesia, pathology and what happens to the price if the plan changes on the day.
Hospital outpatient vs imaging center
One CPT code, two Medicare payment logics: the OPPS facility payment plus a professional fee, or one global fee schedule amount.
Facility fees, explained
Learn what a facility fee is, why one visit can produce two bills, and the questions that surface the fee before you book.
Urgent care vs ER: where to go and what it costs
Urgency decides the door. After that, the billing layers, network rules and emergency protections behind each one.
How to find a procedure price by CPT code
Start from the code on your order, match the descriptor, read the anchors for 30 procedures, then ask for that exact code.
How to price a procedure without insurance
The no-insurance order as one worksheet, from the exact code to the written cash price and the estimate that backs it.
How to use a hospital's published prices
The five standard charges hospitals post, where the file lives, and how to turn one row into a question for billing.
Estimate your cost with insurance
A five-number worksheet for what you will owe, where the federal rule says to get each number from your plan, and three invented examples.