| |  |  | With Health Insurance: Copay or 10%-50% Coinsurance |  | Without Health Insurance: $1,000-$3,000+ | |
An echocardiogram uses ultrasound to look at the heart and can be used for diagnosis and during treatment of various conditions, including congenital heart disease, heart murmurs, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and heart infection. Typical costs: | - For patients covered by health insurance, out-of-pocket cost for an echocardiogram typically consists of a copay or coinsurance of 10%-50%. An echocardiogram typically is covered by insurance when ordered to help diagnose or monitor a heart problem, but not as a routine screening test. For example, United Healthcare[1] covers it for diagnosis and monitoring of a range of heart abnormalities in adults, but does not cover it for screening in the general population, including athletes with no symptoms of heart disease.
- For patients not covered by health insurance, an echocardiogram typically costs $1,000-$3,000 or more, including a $200-$300 fee for interpretation by a cardiologist. Costs for a standard (transthoracic) echocardiogram tend to fall in the middle of the range, while costs for a stress echocardiogram, which involves exercising on a treadmill, or a transesophageal echocardiogram, which involves inserting a scope down the throat and through the esophagus to get a better view, tend to be on the higher end. For example, Wooster Community Hospital in Ohio charges about $900, not including the interpretation fee, for a standard echocardiogram. St. Peter's Hospital[2] in Montana charges almost $1,200. Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center[3] in Nebraska charges about $1,400 for a standard echocardiogram and almost $2,000 for a transesophageal echocardiogram, not including interpretation fee. And Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center[4] in New Hampshire charges about $2,200, including professional fees, after a 30% uninsured discount, for a standard echocardiogram. And they charge about $2,800 for a stress echocardiogram.
Related articles: Heart Surgery, Heart Stent, Heart Rate Monitor, Health Insurance | | What should be included: | - For a transthoracic echocardiogram -- the most common type -- a technologist places a clear gel on the chest and abdomen and uses a hand-held device called a transducer, which emits sound waves to create images of the heart. The device transmits the images to an echocardiogram machine that creates a moving image of the heart that shows pumping action and structures, including valves and chambers. Later, a cardiologist reviews and interprets the images. The National Institutes of Health offers an overview[5] .
- Other types include the stress echocardiogram[6] and the transesophageal echocardiogram[7] .
Additional costs: | - If the standard echocardiogram doesn't provide enough information, the doctor might order a follow-up transesophageal echocardiogram.
Discounts: | - Some clinics offer imaging and specialist services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a locator for clinics that provide discounts[8] on an income-based sliding scale.
- Many hospitals and imaging centers give discounts of up to 30% or more to uninsured/cash-paying patients. For example, Washington Hospital Healthcare System[9] in California offers a 35% discount. And Raleigh Radiology in North Carolina offers a 40% discount for payment made at the time of service.
Shopping for an echocardiogram: | - A family doctor or cardiologist can make a referral to a hospital or imaging center. Or, the American College of Radiology offers a locator by zip code[10] for facilities that are ACR-accredited in ultrasound procedures.
- After the procedure, a cardiologist can recommend follow-up treatment or further testing. The American College of Cardiology offers a cardiologist locator by zip code. A cardiologist should be board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine[11] and have further training in cardiovascular disease.
| Material on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Always consult your physician or pharmacist regarding medications or medical procedures.
|  Post | | Comments (63) | | | | | CostHelper News | | | | | What People Are Paying - Recent Comments |
Page 3 of 3 - << Previous 1 23 | | Posted by: D.Andrew in Atlanta, GA. | Posted: February 17th, 2022 07:02AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Piedmont Healthcare | Coming out of my annual physical, my doctor ordered an echocardiogram. I went this morning and was handed a "Disclosure Notice Against Surprise Billing" and then was surprised by a $4,281 estimate BEFORE I could even undress.
Walked out after being told I can call my insurance company or ask my doctor to find a cheaper price.
I stumbled on the Healthcare Blue Book (https://www.healthcarebluebook.com/) and did a search. The Fair Price was $998 in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
Unbelievable! And as others pointed out, the provider pays the tech $25 an hour for doing the procedure, and $500 for a cardiologist to read it. And then charges us $3,500 for the pleasure of using their facilities and machines.
I could have bought a ticket on Delta direct to Heathrow, $850, booked a hotel for the night $180, plus a taxicab to and from the health center, $60, meals $100, Echocardiogram procedure $100. Total: $1,290.
Isn't that insane! Greed! | | | Posted by: Reyna H in Philadephia, PA. | Posted: January 9th, 2022 12:01PM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Jefferson Health | Hospital charged $3,617 insurance covered $1935 plus additional benefits. Paid deductible and coinsurance | | | Posted by: Janiece in Fort Wayne, IN. | Posted: November 15th, 2021 07:11AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Lutheran Hospital | At daughter's 24month appointment, Dr. heard a slight murmur, recommended echo. Was a hassle to go, as the hospital only did pediatric echos at the crack of dawn. We never heard from the cardiologist who was supposed to review the echo and let us know the results, we had to call the peds office. Then we receive the bill and for the one, 30 minute exam, we were charged $788, $3842, and $898...but the medical codes were all the same and neither Google nor the insurance agency can enlighten us as to what the difference between these charges are, or why they are so much. Total adjusted cost to us is $2639.88 | | | Posted by: Pat K in Portland, OR. | Posted: October 27th, 2021 09:10AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Providence Portland | Same experience - brief visit with a technician, quick review by a specialist, zero accountability to an unsuspecting, vulnerable customer.
It's unethical, immoral and should absolutely be illegal to proffer services - especially in health care - without proactive disclosure of cost.
The problem isn't Obamacare. (See the comments below from Europe) The problem is a health care system that puts profits for shareholders over the well-being of patients. | | | Posted by: Virginia KNott in Tyler, TX. | Posted: August 26th, 2021 05:08AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Trinity mother francis | The tec worked 30 min or more..the doctor didn't even call me afterwards to tell me how it turned out. Nurse called me said all okay...so why did this test take so long?! I am not happy. I know my heart skips a beat every minute. I time it dailey | | | Posted by: a user in Miami, FL. | Posted: August 25th, 2021 08:08AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: University of Miami | DO NOT use University of Miami for any tests. They over charge you and do not let you know the cost before hand. The Insurance paid part, roughly $2k , with reading I owe $3600. You would think the hospital would let you know the cost before they go about the procedure. But NO! and I cannot find anywhere on line their costs for procedures. | | | Posted by: Crying Uncle in St. Lous, MO. | Posted: July 15th, 2021 09:07AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: BJC MO | WHAT A RIPOFF. I was having chest compressions for a number of months. Of course this was over the pandemic but my Dr. and I agreed we should check it. NEVER was I informed that this 30 minute procedure would cost $6100+, with UHC negotiating a rate of $2,400+, and with a high deductible, leaving it all to me. How is it that the hospitals and the insurance company can agree on terms but we as patients just inherit what we get? WTH..this is not right. I'm grateful I don't have a cardiac issue but guess what -- My chest pressure from stress is even higher now. How the hell do they think we can just fork out thousands of dollars at the drop of a hat. I have so many words but none of them are PG13. | | | Posted by: John Ryan in Princeto, NJ. | Posted: June 6th, 2021 09:06AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Pennmedical, princeton | 8,100 for 5 minute pictures.
5,000 adjusted
1,000 insurance paid
1,700 billed to me
Rediculous | | | Posted by: a user in Kansas City, MO. | Posted: November 16th, 2020 08:11AM | | Physician: Dr. Ryan Farrell | Medical Center: KU Med | I have MVP, and therefore must have routine echocardiograms performed. The cost of these procedures is an absolute scam. For a 20-minute procedure performed by a tech making ~$60K annually, and a 10-minute analysis by a physician, KU Med bills my insurance $4,936. And then the separate follow up visit with my physician to review the results of said test are billed to insurance at $1,109. That's $6K for a total of 20-minutes time from a technician using a standard ultrasound machine at a low-cost remote clinic, and 40-minutes total time with physicians reviewing the test. The American people are getting ripped off. The insurance provider shows their "value" by "negotiating" these rates down (basically, serving as the guarantor) and the patient pays for both the sky-high premiums and the $1K "negotiated" balance due to deductibles. | | | Posted by: DavidR in Allentown, PA. | Posted: May 18th, 2020 11:05AM | | Physician: | Medical Center: LVHN | Cardiologist recommended this test for occasional racing heart. I mistakenly thought of the one done for pregnant women, and that my cost would be under $1000. I was not even there for a half hour getting the ultrasound. I was shocked to see the full price they charged was over $5100. What insurance allowed was almost half that at $2650. And I end up owing over $1700. I am amazed how the cardiologist talked about it so casually as it would be nice to get. Not a necessity. Test was done across hall from cardiologist's office. Maybe he gets a cut of the fee. Wish I had inquired elsewhere for a better price. | | | Posted by: Jackie Yeager in San Luis Obispo, CA. | Posted: January 30th, 2020 01:01PM | | Physician: NONE-Nurse | Medical Center: Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center | My insurance covered the Medicare allowed amount for geographic region plus 25% for this bill and the hospital is disputing it. The test was prescribed and medically necessary, took all of ten minutes, was done by a nurse or PA. Infuriating! | | | Posted by: Paschalia Evangelidou in Thessaloniki, KS. | Posted: August 4th, 2019 07:08AM | Guys I must tell you that this test here in Europe costs 50 euro which is basically around 58 dollars. They r ripping you off... | | | Posted by: a user in Reading, PA. | Posted: July 24th, 2019 01:07PM | I was looking at paying over $1700 for the echocardiogram in reading,pa using my awful health insurance. After days of research I found the website mdsave where I could get an echocardiogram done for $697. Paid cash up front for for the same test that my insurance wanted $1000 more for. Absolute joke! | | | Posted by: Deb B in Allentown, PA. | Posted: June 21st, 2019 09:06AM | | Physician: Heart care group | Medical Center: Lehigh Valley Health Network | I spent roughly 30 minutes At the facility. The hospital charged $7725 for this procedure. My Insurance company allowance was $3500. I was charged $600. However that was because I already met my deductible Of $2500. Thank you Obama care for nothing!Fair health care for all. Nonsense! This is highway robbery. | | | Posted by: Sk7 in West Palm Beach, FL. | Posted: April 8th, 2019 06:04PM | | Physician: Dr. Debbie Friedman,Md,PhD | Medical Center: Pediatrix Cardiology | I went for a level 2 Ultra Sound at roughly 22/wks pregnant. The tech was supposedly unable to see all 4 chambers of my baby's heart,and the doctor ordering level 2 referred me to have a fetal echo done. I figured that it being the beginning of the year,whatever I had to pay would go towards my deductible. My deductible is $3,000. I was charged $1,314.00 in the office and was told that was my patient responsibility. I asked several times if that was going to be applied toward my deductible, which they said yes it would. I had the service.1/2/19 and received a bill mid March for an additional $400. I called my insurance, UHC, and they said they denied the claim and requested more information and updated treatman plan for procedure from Dr. Friedmans office,because they sent a bill UHC for nearly $3,400!!!! Yet my insurance has NO record I paid $1,314. Sketchy af. Called Dr. Friedmans office and OF COURSE their answer was to call my insurance company. So $4,700 total for 30 min scan.FU. | | | Posted by: Paul Varga in Trenton, NJ. | Posted: December 12th, 2018 11:12AM | | Physician: Nurse | Medical Center: Capital Health | 45 Minute Test.10K Beware. Capital Health System. Ewing Twp, NJ Insurance paid 7K. Good luck getting the rest. | | | Posted by: jc1234 in allentown, PA. | Posted: August 17th, 2018 11:08AM | | Physician: Lehigh Valley Hospital | Medical Center: Lehigh Valley Hospital | Our pediatrician recommended our two year old daughter have an echocardiogram done. Low and behold, there's nothing wrong. At all. "procedure" took all of 15 minutes with an ultrasound machine. Insurance was billed $4,800. I have to pay $1,000. Where is this money going? What a scam. | | | Posted by: sick of Obama Care, Canceled in statewide, FL. | Posted: July 25th, 2018 12:07PM | | Physician: | Medical Center: SimonMed | If you have Obama Care it costs thousands.
If your un-insured it's under $300.
Do your homework, Get an order from your doctor first. Than search for a company that does only imaging. Same thing works for stitches. $150 cash for a doctors visit and 5 stitches or nearly $800 with Obama Care. My deductible is $6,000 so since I never spend more than a few grand a year, I always pay cash. | | | Posted by: Kristen Jones in Manchester, NH. | Posted: May 15th, 2018 07:05PM | | Physician: | Medical Center: Dartmouth Hutchcock | We have Medicaid for our 7 yo daughter who has subaortic stenosis and we were told two years ago to have it monitored yearly. I had no insurance coverage and so she wasn't seen. She started recently developing chest pain - so I asked her doctor to refer to cardiology . NH Healthy Families ( Medicaid) denied a simple EKG and echo. Medical claims denied ? Seriously unnecessary ? Says who? | | | Posted by: Steve P in Philadelphia, PA. | Posted: April 10th, 2018 01:04PM | | Physician: N/A | Medical Center: Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia -CHOP | I had an Echocardiogram performed at Doylestown Hospital and was billed $850. My 7 year old son had one done a few months later at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and we received a bill for $4,700 – 5 1/2 times more. Both tests were billed as the same procedure (code 93306) and took about the same amount of time (20 minutes). These amounts are "member rates" through Aetna. Both places billed about 2X more. Amazing and infuriating to see such a price discrepancy for the same procedure.
During my sons' evaluation, the cardiologist recommended to get the test. "Mr. Concerned Parent we have a tech on site and you can get it done right now here in our facility – will take less than 1/2 hour." "Thanks doc." What parent would sit there and question how much this will cost. Especially since I had the same procedure done and knew what the ballpark price would be. CHOP is a great hospital but this is price gouging. Ironically, the cardiologist only billed $200 for the vist. | | | Posted by: a user in willard, OH. | Posted: July 29th, 2017 07:07AM | | Physician: greg vigessa | Medical Center: mercy willard ohio | after medicare paid i still owed 501 dollars | |
Page 3 of 3 - << Previous 1 23 | | | | | External Resources: | - /www.unitedhealthcareonline.com/ccmcontent/ProviderII/UHC/en-US/Assets/ProviderSta...
- www.stpetes.org/hospital/patient-family-visitor-services/costs
- www.saintelizabethonline.com/price-estimator-1.html
- patients.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/billing_questions/out_of_pocket_estimator_dhmc.html
- www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003869.htm
- /www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2013/01/Video-Stress-Echocardiogram
- my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/services/tests/ultrasound/tee.aspx
- findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC.aspx
- www.whhs.com/about/washington-hospital-discount-policy-for-uninsured/
- www.acr.org/Quality-Safety/Accreditation/Accredited-Facility-Search
- www.abim.org/
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