CPT 43215 · 1,198 hospitals reporting

Removal of foreign bodies in esophagus using a flexible endoscope

The same procedure costs $90.5 at one hospital and $38,470 at another — a 425× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $1,598.

Cheapest published

$90.5

3 entries below $50 already filtered. Remaining low values usually reflect partial-cost line items (professional fee only), not full bills.

Median across 1,198 hospitals

$1,598

The realistic middle of the cash-price distribution. Use this as your benchmark.

Most expensive

$38,470

Highest published price. Often a gross-charge "list price" rarely actually paid.

Price distribution

405 hospitals · log-scale x-axis

Each bar = number of hospitals charging in that price range. Emerald bar contains the median. Amber dots = entries we flagged as likely partial-cost line items (excluded from the table below).

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Why some prices look unrealistically low or high

Hospitals publish their machine-readable files (MRFs) the way they choose. A single procedure code can appear with very different prices depending on what's being charged:

Global price — facility + implant + anesthesia + surgeon. This is what you'd actually be billed.
Professional fee only — surgeon's portion. Often $500–$2,500 for a major procedure that costs $20K+ globally.
Facility fee only — operating room and recovery, no implant or surgeon.
Per-unit / per-minute charges — e.g. anesthesia time billed at $0.68/min appearing under a CPT code.
Rate multipliers — values like 0.85 meaning "85% of Medicare" rather than dollars.

We filter the most obvious artifacts (under $50, or 25× above the median), but rows in the $500–$2K range for a major procedure are typically professional-only and we can't always tell. Use the median and high-end as the realistic range; treat very low rows as partial-cost line items, not full bills.

500 hospitals reporting

Hospital	State	Gross	Cash price	Min negotiated	Max negotiated	Your insurer
NORTHWEST TEXAS HOSPITAL	TX	$3,995	$1,598	—	—	5 insurers
NORTHFIELD HOSPITAL	MN	$3,827	$1,600	—	—	5 insurers
University of Arkansas Medical Sciences	AR	$2,630	$1,578	—	—	5 insurers
JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM	FL	$3,618	$1,576	$3,299	$3,299	1 insurers
THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT HEALTH NETWORK-ALICE HY	NY	$1,630	$1,630	—	—	5 insurers
CORONA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$3,895	$1,558	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTHWEST HEALTHCARE RANCHO SPRINGS HOSPITAL	CA	$3,895	$1,558	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTHWEST HEALTHCARE SERVICES	ND	$3,895	$1,558	—	—	5 insurers
YALE-NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL	CT	$2,779	$1,639	—	—	5 insurers
CEDAR-SINAI MARINA DEL REY HOSPITAL	CA	$2,386	$1,551	—	—	5 insurers
LIFECARE MEDICAL CENTER	MN	$1,880	$1,654	—	—	5 insurers
UCH-MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM	CO	$4,742	$1,660	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH BROOMFIELD HOSPITAL	CO	$4,742	$1,660	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH GRANDVIEW HOSPITAL	CO	$4,742	$1,660	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTH CENTRAL REG MED CTR	MS	$3,962	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
SOUTH CENTRAL HEALTH	ND	$3,962	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
ALAMEDA HOSPITAL	CA	$3,399	$1,700	$1,360	$2,550	4 insurers
HIGHLAND HOSPITAL	CA	$3,399	$1,700	$1,360	$2,550	4 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CENTER	MS	$3,700	$1,480	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER- GRENADA	MS	$3,700	$1,480	—	—	5 insurers
BAKERSFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	CA	$4,678	$1,717	$3,275	$3,696	3 insurers
BAKERSFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	CA	$4,678	$1,717	$256	$7,572	5 insurers
CITIZENS MEDICAL CENTER	TX	$2,902	$1,451	—	—	5 insurers
GREENWICH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION -	CT	$2,779	$1,445	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH HIGHLANDS RANCH HOSPITAL	CO	$4,742	$1,423	—	—	5 insurers
COLUMBUS REGIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM	NC	$2,029	$1,420	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTH COUNTY HOSPITAL INC	RI	$2,366	$1,420	—	—	3 insurers
AIKEN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	SC	$4,445	$1,778	—	—	5 insurers
SWEETWATER HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION	TN	$4,445	$1,778	—	—	5 insurers
BRIDGEPORT HOSPITAL	CT	$2,779	$1,417	—	—	5 insurers
SIGNATURE HEALTHCARE BROCKTON HOSPITAL	MA	$2,552	$1,786	—	—	5 insurers
CARILION STONEWALL JACKSON HOSPITAL	VA	$2,985	$1,791	$342	$4,352	1 insurers
CODY REGIONAL HEALTH	WY	$1,649	$1,402	—	—	5 insurers
CENTURA HEALTH-PENROSE ST FRANCIS HEALTH SERVICES	CO	$2,368	$1,397	$1,302	$2,226	5 insurers
CENTURA HEALTH-PENROSE ST FRANCIS HEALTH SERVICES	CO	$2,368	$1,397	$262	$6,796	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH ST. FRANCIS	NE	$2,368	$1,397	$1,302	$2,226	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH ST. FRANCIS	NE	$2,368	$1,397	$262	$6,796	5 insurers
COSHOCTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$4,450	$1,806	$230	$4,361	5 insurers
SAINT JOHN HOSPITAL	KS	$9,432	$1,807	$457	$7,545	5 insurers
PROVIDENCE MEDICAL CENTER	KS	$10,185	$1,807	$300	$9,411	5 insurers