Ultrasound prices without insurance by type of exam

How much an ultrasound costs without insurance

An ultrasound uses sound waves to make a picture of the inside of your body. Since there are many kinds of ultrasound, there is no single ultrasound price. This page gives general information and does not replace medical advice. If you have severe pain, heavy bleeding or another emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest ER.

A 2021 study in JAMA Network Open checked the self-pay prices that hospitals posted online. More than 1,300 hospitals had posted prices for each of the three exams below. The median is the price in the exact middle, with half the hospitals above it and half below. The study also gave the range for the middle half of hospitals.

• For an ultrasound of the belly, the median cash price was $560, and the middle half of hospitals charged between $308 and $816.
• The ultrasound of the pregnant uterus, done through the belly for one baby, had a median of $464. The middle half of hospitals charged between $286 and $686.
• For an ultrasound of the pelvis done through the vagina, the median was $406, with the middle half between $246 and $619.

These prices come from 2021 and from hospitals that had posted both a cash price and an insurance price. Today's numbers are probably different from the ones in this study. The gap between the low and high ends is the main lesson. For a pelvic ultrasound, a quarter of the hospitals charged $246 or less, and a quarter charged $619 or more.

The different kinds of ultrasound

The FDA says ultrasound sends high-frequency sound waves into the body and turns the echoes into a picture. Unlike an X-ray, it does not use ionizing radiation. The agency lists many uses, such as looking at organs in the belly, the breast, the heart, a baby during pregnancy and blood flow.

Each kind of exam has its own name and its own billing code. The three exams in the list above are different exams with different prices. Your doctor decides which one fits your problem, and we cannot tell you which test you need.

When you call for a price, ask for the full name of the exam as it appears on your order. Please ask for the billing code as well, because two places can use the same word, such as ultrasound, and mean different exams.

Why the same ultrasound costs different amounts

Where you have the exam done is a big part of the answer. In 2022, the Health Care Cost Institute looked at imaging without contrast for people with job-based insurance. It found that insurers paid hospital outpatient departments 2.62 to 3.7 times what they paid physician offices, depending on the level of imaging. These were insurance prices, so they are not cash prices, but the pattern is still worth knowing.

• Hospitals add charges for their buildings and equipment, and a freestanding imaging center may charge less.
• Radiologists, the doctors who read the pictures, may send a separate bill for the reading.
• Your city and the hospital's own pricing choices also change the price.
• Planned exams give you time to compare, while ER exams do not.

Pregnancy ultrasounds

Many people look up ultrasound prices because they are pregnant, and our guide on prenatal care without insurance covers the rest of that care. Anyone who is pregnant and uninsured should check Medicaid first. Federal law makes Medicaid cover pregnant women with low incomes, and many states cover higher incomes. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission says covered services include prenatal care as well as labor and delivery. Your state Medicaid office can tell you whether you qualify, and the rules differ by state.

Prenatal clinics and community health centers may order the ultrasounds your doctor says you need and may help with the cost. Ask about the sliding scale, which means a price based on your income.

Please be careful with keepsake ultrasounds, because the FDA discourages using ultrasound for non-medical purposes such as keepsake videos. A keepsake session is a different product from a medical exam, and your doctor does not order it.

How to find a lower price

1. Get the order first, with the exact exam named.
2. Call two or three places and ask for the self-pay price, the billing code and whether the radiologist's reading is included.
3. Read the online price lists, which each hospital has had to post since 2021 under a federal rule. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says the files include a discounted cash price.
4. When you schedule at least 3 business days ahead, ask for a written estimate. Our guide on the good faith estimate shows how.
5. If the hospital is a nonprofit, ask for its financial assistance form. Our guide on hospital financial assistance explains the steps.

Hospital price files can be hard to read. A file may show a gross charge, which is the full list price. It may also show a discounted cash price, which is the price for people who pay on their own. Ask the scheduling desk which number applies to your exam, and ask them to say it in dollars. If your final bill is at least $400 more than your written estimate, you may be able to dispute it.

Search for a cash-pay doctor near you if you do not have a doctor to order the exam. Phone scripts you can read out loud are in our guide on asking for the cash price.