CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, head (no contrast)

Facility: Childrens Hospital

Billing Code: 70450 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$303

about 2.8× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $86–$363

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$324

About the fair price

about $21 over the fair price · 3.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $303 This hospital $324 Cash price $862 Hospital's list price $3,191

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other LA hospitals

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

Cheapest $68 Priciest $324

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

A fair price for a CT scan, head (no contrast) is about $303 (about 2.8× the $107 Medicare rate). Childrens Hospital charges insurers about $324, or about $862 in cash — about the fair price. Located in New Orleans, LA.

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	$176 - $1,369	165%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$182 - $1,064	170%
Aetnamajor	$967 - $1,350	905%
Cignamajor	$1,369 - $1,454	1282%
Humanamajor	$1,450	1358%
Ambetter (Centene)	$68 - $1,018	64%
CDPHP	$789 - $1,369	739%
Harvard Pilgrim	$819 - $1,089	767%
Tufts Health Plan	$990 - $992	927%
UniCare	$623	583%
+ 8 smaller / regional plans	$980 - $1,450

Excludes 2 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 (about 862), 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: 70450.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Childrens Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70450.
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 Childrens Hospital

Compare: CT scan, head (no contrast) at other LA hospitals

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