Upper endoscopy with biopsy cost in HI
What a upper endoscopy with biopsy costs at HI hospitals — and the fair price to aim for.
Typical commercial prices here are +15% above the fair benchmark (1.15×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Loss-Leader / Captive Ancillary Cross-Subsidizer
Kau Hospital prices routine shoppable procedures near 0.6× Medicare (p50 0.71×) while skewing captive emergency, lab, and upper-quartile codes to 1.5× Medicare (p75 1.17×, +65% upper-tail jump). Patients scheduling elective outpatient care can capture competitive rates, but emergency and ancillary bills require strict line-item auditing.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 18% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.82×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 49% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (85/100 safety score) with 72% patient recommendation
- Binding Good Faith Estimate rights under 45 CFR § 149.610 protect self-pay patients before scheduling
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (1.15× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
- Captive ER (0.9×) & laboratory (1.4×) services average 2.50× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (0.6×)
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.17×) jump +65% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 0.71×)
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 4,475) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
In general, HI hospitals charge about the fair price for this. how we calculate the BaseRate →
Compared with the rest of the country, HI’s fair BaseRate ($1,002) is about the same as the national fair price of $991.
Cheapest HI hospitals for a upper endoscopy with biopsy
- Kau Hospital · Pahala $139
- Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital · Kapaa $139
- Adventist Health Castle · Kailua $161
- Hilo Benioff Medical Center · Hilo $369
- Kohala Hospital · Kapaau $925
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital · Honolulu $1,008
- Kona Community Hospital · Kealakekua $1,135
- North Hawaii Community Hospital, Inc · Kamuela $1,142
- Straub Clinic and Hospital · Honolulu $1,167
- Kuakini Medical Center · Honolulu $1,167
- Pali Momi Medical Center · Aiea $1,167
- Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children · Honolulu $1,167
- Wilcox Memorial Hospital · Lihue $1,190
Audit a Bill or Quote at HI Hospital Benchmark (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $989
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (36.3% of gross = $989).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Ask HI Hospital Benchmark's billing desk for their written 45 CFR § 180 discounted self-pay cash price and Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act.
Negotiate Toward $1,002 Fair BaseRate ($581 Medicare)
Your bill ($2,724) is $1,722 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($1,002) and 4.7× the $581 Medicare rate.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
Inpatient MS-DRG vs. Outpatient CPT Care-Setting Savings
Clinical Scope Note:Inpatient MS-DRG reflects a multi-day hospital admission (room, nursing, higher clinical acuity); outpatient CPT reflects the outpatient facility fee for clinically eligible low-acuity patients and excludes separate surgeon and anesthesia professional fees.