Frequently asked questions

The plan price is the rate your insurance has agreed to pay that provider for the service. What you owe depends on your plan: until you meet your deductible you usually pay the full plan price, and after that you pay your copay or coinsurance. We show the plan price so you can estimate your share and compare providers fairly.

A cash price is what a provider charges if you pay yourself instead of using insurance. Hospitals are required to publish theirs. For some services, especially scans and lab tests, the cash price can be lower than what your plan pays.

Compare both. If you haven't met your deductible and the cash price is lower, paying cash can save money now. But cash payments often don't count toward your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, so if you expect more care this year, using your insurance may cost less overall. Ask the provider for the cash price up front.

Every insurer negotiates its own price with every provider, and those deals vary widely. Where the care happens matters too: the same scan or procedure in a hospital outpatient department often costs far more than at an independent imaging center or surgery center.

Federal law now requires health insurers and hospitals to publish the prices they've agreed to and the prices they charge. That information is public but scattered across thousands of huge files. We collect it every month and organise it by procedure, provider and plan.

We're starting with the largest national and regional health insurers, and adding more every month. If your plan isn't listed yet, you can still compare cash prices and see the typical range other plans pay.

Insurers must refresh their prices every month, and we update ours as soon as new prices are published. Each price shows the month it's from.

Yes. Every price is tied to a specific doctor, hospital, lab or clinic and its address, so you can compare the providers in your city or ZIP code, from lowest to highest price.