CMS Price Transparency Data

Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)

Facility: St Vincent's Birmingham

Billing Code: 93306 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$519

about 0.9× the $558 Medicare rate · typically $503–$562

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$515

About the fair price

about $4 under the fair price · 0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $558 Fair price $519 This hospital $515 Hospital's list price $2,997

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other AL hospitals

Highest price of the 9 AL hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $106 Priciest $515

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 AL hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

A fair price for a Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) is about $519 (about 0.9× the $558 Medicare rate). St Vincent's Birmingham charges insurers about $515 — about the fair price. Located in Birmingham, AL.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

5 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana Kaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$500 - $738	90%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$480	86%
Aetnamajor	$515 - $1,534	92%
Cignamajor	$515 - $1,233	92%
Humanamajor	$505 - $1,932	90%
Ambetter (Centene)	$177 - $687	32%
+ 8 smaller / regional plans	$500 - $2,607

Excludes 3 rental-network / third-party entries (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price, before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the CPT code on your bill matches exactly: 93306.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm St Vincent's Birmingham is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 93306.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at St Vincent's Birmingham

Compare: Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) at other AL hospitals

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.