What an EKG costs when you pay without insurance

If you have chest pain, call 911 first

Chest pain can be a sign of a heart attack. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, lists the signs. The most common one is discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts longer than a few minutes. Other signs include feeling weak, light-headed or faint, pain in the jaw, neck, back or arms, and shortness of breath. Women are more likely to have unusual tiredness, nausea or vomiting.

The CDC says that if you notice these signs in yourself or someone else, you should call 911 right away. It adds that the sooner you get to an emergency room, the sooner you can get treatment. Please do not stop to look up prices first. A hospital emergency room must examine you whether or not you have insurance. You can deal with the bill later, and our guide on the ER without insurance explains how.

The rest of this page is for planned EKGs, such as one a doctor orders at a check-up. It is general information and not medical advice.

How much is an EKG without insurance?

An EKG, also called an ECG, is a quick and painless test that records the electrical signals your heart makes when it beats. MedlinePlus, the health information site of the National Library of Medicine, says the test takes only a few minutes. Small sticky patches called electrodes go on your arms, legs and chest while you lie still.

A 2021 study in JAMA Network Open collected the cash prices that hospitals posted online. Cash price means the price for a person who pays without insurance. For a routine EKG with a doctor's reading of the results, the median cash price at 398 hospitals was $125. The middle half of those hospitals charged between $52 and $144.

A median is the middle number, so half of the hospitals charged less and half charged more. This figure is from 2021 and from hospitals only, so a doctor's office or a clinic may charge less or more today. Only hospitals that posted both a cash price and an insurer-negotiated price are in the number. Treat it as a starting point for your own calls.

What the price includes

The test in the study was a routine EKG with an interpretation. The interpretation is a doctor's reading of the tracing, along with a short report. When you call for a price, ask what is in it. A price that covers only the tracing may leave out the reading, and the reading may come in a second bill.

• Ask whether the quote includes the doctor's reading of the results.
• Ask whether there is a separate fee for the office visit that comes with the test.
• Ask whether a facility fee is added if the test is done at a hospital clinic.
• Ask who will explain the results to you and when.
• Ask for the price in writing, or write down the date and the name of the person you spoke with.

An EKG is only one heart test, and a doctor may order others, such as blood tests or an ultrasound of the heart. Each test has its own price, so ask what the doctor plans to order and what each part costs. Our guide on lab tests without insurance explains how blood test prices work.

Why a doctor might order an EKG

MedlinePlus says providers mainly order an EKG for people who have symptoms. Examples are chest pain, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness or fatigue. It may also be used before surgery or to check how a heart treatment is working. MedlinePlus adds that the results alone cannot diagnose a heart condition, so providers also use other tests and your medical history.

We cannot tell you whether you need an EKG. That decision belongs to a doctor who knows your history. Ask the doctor to write down which test is being ordered and why, so you can call around and compare prices. If a doctor has told you to get one, you can ask where it can be done at the lowest cost. If you have these symptoms and no doctor yet, getting one soon is the first step, and the next section explains ways to do that.

Places to ask about a lower price

Start with the office that wants the test. Ask whether it does EKGs on site and what the self-pay price is. Some offices have the machine and some send patients to another place, so ask where the test would happen. Our guide on asking for the cash price has a phone script.

A community health center is another place to call. These federally funded clinics adjust their fees by income and family size. A federal health agency says they serve everyone even if they cannot pay. We could not confirm that every center does EKGs, so ask. Our guide on community health centers shows how to find one.

If you have no regular doctor, a direct primary care practice is one option. You pay a flat membership fee, usually $50 to $200 a month, to see a doctor who knows you. The membership is not insurance, so an EKG may or may not be included. Ask the office what is included before you join. You can search for a cash-pay doctor near you.

If a hospital bill for an EKG has already arrived, ask for an itemized bill and check each charge. Ask about the hospital's financial assistance policy too. If you have chest pain or any other emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest ER.