CPT 43244 · 1,227 hospitals reporting

Tying of dilated veins of stomach and/or esophagus using a flexible endoscope

The same procedure costs $140 at one hospital and $28,933 at another — a 206× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $1,681.

Cheapest published

$140

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

Median across 1,227 hospitals

$1,681

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

Most expensive

$28,933

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

Price distribution

414 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
BALDWIN HEALTH	AL	$3,200	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
PIH HEALTH DOWNEY HOSPITAL	CA	$3,200	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SOUTH BAY	CA	$3,200	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - ORANGE COUNTY - ANAHEIM	CA	$3,200	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	CA	$3,200	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SAN MARCOS	CA	$3,200	$1,664	—	—	3 insurers
SPRINGHILL MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$1,998	$1,698	—	—	5 insurers
LUBBOCK HEART HOSPITAL LP	TX	$1,703	$1,703	—	—	5 insurers
UNITYPOINT HEALTH - MERITER	WI	$2,059	$1,647	—	—	4 insurers
RIVERSIDE MEDICAL CENTER	IL	$6,150	$1,637	—	—	5 insurers
NATIONAL PARK MEDICAL CENTER	AR	$5,770	$1,731	—	—	2 insurers
COLQUITT REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	GA	$1,629	$1,629	—	—	5 insurers
JACKSON COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AUTHORITY	OK	$1,629	$1,629	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CENTER	MS	$4,056	$1,622	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER- GRENADA	MS	$4,056	$1,622	—	—	5 insurers
WESTERLY HOSPITAL	RI	$4,488	$1,616	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH HIGHLANDS RANCH HOSPITAL	CO	$5,832	$1,750	—	—	5 insurers
ROME MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INC	NY	$4,352	$1,757	—	—	5 insurers
NORTH ALABAMA MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$4,575	$1,601	—	—	5 insurers
NORTH ALABAMA SHOALS HOSPITAL	AL	$4,575	$1,601	—	—	5 insurers
FAIRVIEW LAKES HEALTH SERVICES	MN	$4,439	$1,780	—	—	4 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW SOUTHDALE HOSPITAL	MN	$4,439	$1,780	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW UNIVERSITY OF MN MEDICAL CENTER	MN	$4,439	$1,780	—	—	5 insurers
FAIRVIEW NORTHLAND REGIONAL HOSPITAL	MN	$4,439	$1,780	—	—	4 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW ST JOHN'S HOSPITAL	MN	$4,439	$1,780	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW WOODWINDS HOSPITAL	MN	$4,439	$1,780	—	—	5 insurers
MAUI MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER	HI	$4,577	$1,785	—	—	3 insurers
JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM	FL	$4,499	$1,576	$1,509	$6,162	1 insurers
NORTHFIELD HOSPITAL	MN	$3,741	$1,564	—	—	5 insurers
ST LOUIS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL	MO	$3,007	$1,804	$1,479	$2,406	5 insurers
COSHOCTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$8,708	$1,806	$230	$8,534	5 insurers
PROVIDENCE MEDICAL CENTER	KS	$7,722	$1,807	$400	$7,135	5 insurers
DESOTO REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM	LA	$2,221	$1,555	—	—	5 insurers
FRYE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$4,601	$1,840	—	—	5 insurers
CODY REGIONAL HEALTH	WY	$2,179	$1,852	—	—	5 insurers
CITIZENS MEDICAL CENTER	TX	$3,017	$1,508	—	—	5 insurers
NORTHERN COCHISE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, INC.	AZ	$3,090	$1,854	—	—	5 insurers
NORTHERN COCHISE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, INC.	AZ	$3,090	$1,854	—	—	2 insurers
HIGHPOINT HEALTH-TROUSDALE WITH ASCENSION SAINT	TN	$6,426	$1,497	—	—	5 insurers
HIGHPOINT HEALTH-RIVERVIEW WITH ASCENSION SAINT TH	TN	$6,426	$1,497	—	—	5 insurers