CPT 43253 · 1,051 hospitals reporting

Injection of diagnostic or therapeutic substance or marker in esophagus; stomach; and/or upper small

The same procedure costs $227 at one hospital and $28,648 at another — a 126× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $2,328.

Cheapest published

$227

Lowest published price across all reporting hospitals.

Median across 1,051 hospitals

$2,328

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

Most expensive

$28,648

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

Price distribution

224 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
HILTON HEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	SC	—	$2,328	$197	$3,998	5 insurers
EAST COOPER MEDICAL CENTER	SC	—	$2,328	$197	$11,541	5 insurers
COASTAL CAROLINA HOSPITAL	SC	—	$2,328	$197	$3,409	5 insurers
GREENWICH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION -	CT	$4,488	$2,334	—	—	5 insurers
SANFORD MEDICAL CENTER FARGO	ND	$2,925	$2,340	—	—	2 insurers
CARILION MEDICAL CENTER	VA	$6,723	$2,353	—	—	5 insurers
BRIDGEPORT HOSPITAL	CT	$4,488	$2,289	—	—	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S WARREN HOSPITAL	NJ	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - UPPER BUCKS CAMPUS	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKES HOSPITAL BETHLEHEM	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - GRAND VIEW CAMPUS	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - EASTON CAMPUS	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S MINERS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - ANDERSON CAMPUS	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - MONROE CAMPUS	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
GEISINGER ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - CARBON CAMPUS	PA	$2,869	$2,381	—	—	3 insurers
MONTEFIORE ST LUKE'S CORNWALL	NY	—	$2,395	—	—	5 insurers
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS, INC	WV	$4,812	$2,406	—	—	5 insurers
SAINT MICHAEL'S MEDICAL CENTER	NJ	$3,690	$2,225	$21.83	$3,690	5 insurers
JEFFERSON EINSTEIN PHILADELPHIA HOSPITAL	PA	—	$2,224	—	—	5 insurers
JEFFERSON EINSTEIN MONTGOMERY HOSPITAL	PA	—	$2,224	—	—	5 insurers
GARDEN GROVE HOSPITAL & MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$10,154	$2,455	$233	$10,154	5 insurers
WEST ANAHEIM MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$12,693	$2,455	$233	$12,693	5 insurers
LA PALMA INTERCOMMUNITY HOSPITAL	CA	$12,693	$2,455	$233	$12,693	5 insurers
UCH-MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM	CO	$6,259	$2,191	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH BROOMFIELD HOSPITAL	CO	$6,259	$2,191	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH GRANDVIEW HOSPITAL	CO	$6,259	$2,191	—	—	5 insurers
USC ARCADIA HOSPITAL	CA	$7,085	$2,480	—	—	5 insurers
CAPE FEAR VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$3,621	$2,173	—	—	5 insurers
BETSY JOHNSON REGIONAL HOSPITAL	NC	$3,621	$2,173	—	—	5 insurers
USA HEALTH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	AL	$4,813	$2,488	—	—	5 insurers
THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	NJ	$4,813	$2,488	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM, INC	TN	$4,813	$2,488	—	—	5 insurers
LANDMARK MEDICAL CENTER	RI	$5,440	$2,146	$1,045	$5,440	5 insurers
WALKER BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$4,210	$2,526	$1,607	$6,771	5 insurers
CITIZENS BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$4,210	$2,526	$1,607	$6,771	5 insurers
MISSOURI BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER	MO	$4,210	$2,526	$1,607	$6,771	5 insurers
ROME MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INC	NY	$5,243	$2,117	—	—	5 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - PANORAMA CITY	CA	$6,046	$2,116	$1,635	$4,420	3 insurers