CMS Price Transparency Data

Group therapy session

Facility: Essentia Health St Mary's Medical Center

Billing Code: 90853 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$83

about 0.8× the $104 Medicare rate · typically $52–$92

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$93

About the fair price

about $10 over the fair price · 0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $104 Fair price $83 This hospital $93 Cash price $106 Hospital's list price $160

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MN hospitals

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

Cheapest $26 Priciest $93

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

A fair price for a Group therapy session is about $83 (about 0.8× the $104 Medicare rate). Essentia Health St Mary's Medical Center charges insurers about $93, or about $106 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Duluth, MN.

What each insurance company pays

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

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

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna HumanaKaiser 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	$93 - $117	90%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$71 - $206	68%
Aetnamajor	$136	131%
Cignamajor	$114	110%
HealthPartners	$64 - $114	62%
Medica	$53 - $98	51%
Sanford Health Plan	$69 - $164	66%
Security Health Plan	$93 - $123	90%
UCare	$93 - $105	90%
+ 15 smaller / regional plans	$71 - $138

Government programs also on file: Medicare.

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 106), 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: 90853.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Essentia Health St Mary's Medical Center is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 90853.
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 Essentia Health St Mary's Medical Center

Compare: Group therapy session at other MN hospitals

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