Hospital price transparency lookup: how to find what a hospital charges

The same test can cost very different amounts at 2 hospitals a few miles apart. Federal rules say hospitals must post their prices online, so you can check before you go. This guide shows you how to do a hospital price transparency lookup, read the numbers, and use them. It's part of our guide on how to avoid surprise medical bills.

Posted prices work best for care you can plan, like an MRI, a colonoscopy, or lab work. They're also useful after care, when you want to check a bill. Never delay emergency care to look up prices.

What do hospitals have to post?

Since January 1, 2021, every licensed hospital in the U.S. has had to post its standard charges online in 2 ways.

1. A full price file. This machine-readable file lists every item and service the hospital has a standard charge for. It covers both inpatient and outpatient care.
2. A consumer-friendly display. This is a list of at least 300 shoppable services, the kind you can schedule ahead. It includes 70 services the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) picked, if the hospital offers them. A hospital can offer an online price estimator instead.

Both must be free. You must be able to see them without an account, a password, or giving personal information. Hospitals must update them at least once a year and show the date of the last update.

Here's what the numbers in these files mean.

The last row is new. Since January 1, 2026, a rate set as a percent or a formula must come with dollar figures from past payments. The file must show the median, the 10th percentile, and the 90th percentile. It must also show how many payments those figures are based on. CMS began enforcing these updates on April 1, 2026.

Step 1: Get the details of your care

Prices are listed by service and by billing code. Before you search, ask your doctor's office for:

• The exact name of the test or procedure, like "MRI of the lower spine without contrast"
• The billing code, usually a 5-digit Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code
• Whether it's inpatient or outpatient
• Which hospital location or other place they'd send you to

The code matters. "MRI of the lower spine" can mean several codes, with and without contrast dye. Each one has its own price.

Step 2: If you have insurance, start with your insurer's tool

Most health plans must offer an online price tool. Since January 1, 2024, it must cover all covered items and services. It shows the provider's negotiated rate with your plan and your estimated share. You can also ask for the same information on paper.

Log in to your plan's website or app and look for a cost estimator. Search by the procedure name or code, then pick the provider and location. Write down your estimated share.

This is the best number for you, because it accounts for your plan's details. The hospital's file can't know how much of your deductible you've met.

Step 3: Find the hospital's price page

Go to the hospital's website and scroll to the very bottom. Since January 1, 2024, hospitals must have a link labeled "Price Transparency" in the footer of their homepage. It goes to the page with the price file.

If you can't find it, search the hospital's name plus "price transparency." A hospital system with several locations may post a separate file for each one, so pick the right location.

Step 4: Use the price estimator or shoppable services list

On the price page, look for a price estimator or a list of shoppable services. This is the easiest place to start.

If the hospital has a price estimator, enter the service and your insurance details. The tool must give you an estimate of what you'd owe the hospital. Read the fine print about what it includes.

If the hospital has a shoppable services list, search it by service name, billing code, or insurer. The list must use plain language. It must group each service with the related services the hospital usually provides with it. For each one, it shows:

• The discounted cash price, or the gross charge if there's no cash price
• The negotiated rate for each insurer and plan
• The lowest and highest negotiated rates
• Whether the price is for inpatient care, outpatient care, or both

The CMS list includes common imaging tests. For example, "MRI scan of lower spinal canal," code 72148, is on it.

Step 5: Open the full price file if you need to

If your service isn't on the shoppable list, check the full price file. It's usually a large spreadsheet-style file in CSV or JSON format. A CSV file opens in most spreadsheet programs, but a big one can be slow.

Here's how to search it:

1. Download the file from the hospital's price page.
2. Use your program's search or filter to find your billing code.
3. Check the setting column, inpatient or outpatient.
4. Find the column with your plan's name, and the cash price column.

Some rates aren't listed in dollars. They may be a percent of the charge or a formula. That's where the newer allowed amount figures help, since they show what the hospital has actually been paid.

Step 6: Compare places, and add the other bills

Look up the same code at 2 or 3 places if you can. Prices can vary a lot by setting.

A 2026 Health Care Cost Institute brief looked at 2022 claims for people with employer coverage. For its most complex group of imaging tests without contrast dye, the average price was $387 in a doctor's office. In a hospital outpatient department, it was $1,416. The same brief found that MRI prices averaged about 3 times what Medicare pays.

Hospital files cover the hospital's charges. That can include doctors the hospital employs. Other doctors, like a radiologist who reads your scan, may bill you separately. Ask who else will bill you, and look up their prices or ask for an estimate.

If you have Original Medicare, use the Procedure Price Lookup tool on Medicare.gov. It shows national average costs for many outpatient procedures. It compares hospital outpatient departments with ambulatory surgical centers.

Before you switch to a cheaper place, make sure it's in your plan's network. Our guide on how to check if a doctor is in network shows how. Also ask whether your plan needs to approve the care first.

Step 7: Save what you find and get an estimate in writing

Take screenshots or print the pages you used. Make sure the hospital's name, the date of the last update, and the price all show. Save your insurer's estimate too.

Then get an estimate in writing before planned care:

• If you have insurance, save your plan's estimate. You can also call member services and ask for it on paper.
• If you don't have insurance or won't use it, ask each provider for a good faith estimate. If a provider's bill comes in at least $400 above its estimate, you may be able to dispute it. See our guide to good faith estimates and the $400 dispute rule.

Say Priya's doctor orders an MRI of her lower back, code 72148. She has a high-deductible plan through work, with $2,000 left on her deductible. So she'll pay the full price her plan negotiated, up to that $2,000.

She checks her insurer's tool and 2 hospitals' shoppable services lists.

Place	Gross charge	Cash price	Her plan's rate
Hospital A, outpatient	$3,400	$1,200	$1,450
Hospital B, outpatient	$2,800	$800	$950
Imaging center (from her insurer's tool)			$480

In this example, a radiologist bills separately at each place. Her insurer's tool shows $90 under her plan for reading the scan.

Place	Scan	Reading	Her estimated total
Hospital A	$1,450	$90	$1,540
Hospital B	$950	$90	$1,040
Imaging center	$480	$90	$570

The imaging center would save her $1,540 − $570 = $970 compared with Hospital A. She confirms with her plan that the imaging center and its radiologists are in-network. She also checks that her plan approved the MRI. Then she saves her screenshots.

Notice that Hospital A's cash price, $1,200, is lower than her plan's rate there. Paying cash could cost less, but it might not count toward her deductible. She'd need to ask her plan first.

For typical price ranges and what to check on the bill, see how much an MRI costs.

These numbers are made up. Real prices vary by place, plan, and code.

What price files can't tell you

Posted prices are useful, but they have limits.

• They aren't your bill. Your share depends on your deductible, copays, and coinsurance.
• They may not include every provider. Doctors who don't work for the hospital often bill separately.
• Care can change. An extra test or a longer stay adds charges that no estimate included.
• Files can be hard to read or incomplete. Some rates are formulas, and some fields may be blank. CMS asked for public comments in 2026 on ways to make the data more consistent and easier to compare.
• Prices change. Hospitals must update their files at least once a year, so check the date.

Use posted prices as a guide, not a promise.

If this doesn't work

If you can't find the prices or make sense of them, try these steps:

• Call the hospital. Ask the billing office or a financial counselor for the price of your service by billing code. Ask for the cash price and your plan's rate.
• Call your insurer. Member services can give you your estimated share. The number is on your insurance card.
• Report a missing file. If you can't find a hospital's price file online, you can submit a complaint to CMS through its hospital price transparency website. CMS won't respond to you directly. It reviews hospitals and can issue warnings, require a corrective action plan, or fine them.
• Ask for a good faith estimate. If you're paying without insurance, providers must give you one.

Already got a bill? The hospital's own posted prices can help you question it. See our guides on how to negotiate a hospital bill and self-pay discounts on a medical bill.

If you're choosing a plan for next year, prices are only part of the picture. See how to choose a health insurance plan. For imaging bills, see our guide to MRI and CT scan bills.

When to get help

You can usually look up prices yourself in under an hour. It's worth getting help when:

• The hospital's file is too large or confusing to search.
• You need a costly planned procedure and want a firm price.
• Your bill is far above the posted price, and the billing office won't explain it.
• You're comparing prices for someone else and you're short on time.

Your insurer's member services team can explain your estimated share. If you're uninsured and a bill is far above your estimate, the No Surprises Help Desk answers questions at 1-800-985-3059. A hospital financial counselor can explain prices and financial assistance. A medical bill advocate can help you compare prices or question a bill.