Sleep study (overnight, in lab) cost in MA
What a sleep study (overnight, in lab) costs at MA hospitals — and the fair price to aim for.
Typical commercial prices here are +44% above the fair benchmark (1.44×) 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
South Shore Hospital prices routine shoppable procedures near 1.2× Medicare (p50 1.06×) while skewing captive emergency, lab, and upper-quartile codes to 1.8× Medicare (p75 1.56×, +47% 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)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.90× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 9% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- 2-Star CMS clinical rating with 65% patient recommendation (60/100 safety score)
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (17.7% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.5× markup over Medicare rates
- Captive ER (0.8×) & laboratory (2.5×) services average 1.50× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (1.2×)
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.56×) jump +47% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 1.06×)
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 9.9× Medicare (14¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)
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, MA hospitals charge about the fair price for this. how we calculate the BaseRate →
Compared with the rest of the country, MA’s fair BaseRate ($1,345) is above the national fair price of $1,048.
Cheapest MA hospitals for a sleep study (overnight, in lab)
- South Shore Hospital · South Weymouth $1,044
- Boston Medical Center-Brighton · Brighton $1,086
- Berkshire Medical Center · Pittsfield $1,095
- Metrowest Medical Center · Framingham $1,096
- North Adams Regional Hospital Corporation · North Adams $1,104
- Falmouth Hospital · Falmouth $1,127
- North Shore Medical Center - · Salem $1,184
- Boston Medical Center · Boston $1,197
- Brigham and Women Faulkner Hospital · Jamaica Plain $1,208
- Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary - · Boston $1,208
- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital - Boston · Charlestown $1,208
- Massachusetts General Hospital · Boston $1,208
- St Vincent Hospital · Worcester $1,250
- Emerson Hospital - · W Concord $1,267
- Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Milton · Milton $1,360
Audit a Bill or Quote at MA Hospital Benchmark (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $1,284
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 = $1,284).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Ask MA 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 $1,345 Fair BaseRate ($780 Medicare)
Your bill ($3,538) is $2,193 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($1,345) and 4.5× the $780 Medicare rate.