CMS Price Transparency Data

Cataract surgery with lens implant

Facility: St Lukes Hospital

Billing Code: 66984 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$1,970

about 0.8× the $2,358 Medicare rate · typically $1,212–$2,287

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$946

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $1,024 under the fair price · 0.4× Medicare

Medicare pays $2,358 Fair price $1,970 This hospital $946 Cash price $3,869 Hospital's list price $7,113

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MN hospitals

One of the lower prices — 6 of 8 other MN hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

Cheapest $615 Priciest $2,029

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

⚠ The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.

A fair price for a Cataract surgery with lens implant is about $1,970 (about 0.8× the $2,358 Medicare rate). St Lukes Hospital charges insurers about $946, or about $3,869 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. 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✓ Humana CignaKaiser 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	$419 - $774	18%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$375 - $7,557	16%
Aetnamajor	$506 - $2,461	21%
Humanamajor	$431 - $2,509	18%
HealthPartners	$515 - $2,437	22%
Medica	$214 - $1,754	9%
Security Health Plan	$253 - $9,443	11%
UCare	$390 - $425	17%
+ 1 smaller / regional plan	$729

Government programs also on file: Military & VA.

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (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 3,869), 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: 66984.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm St Lukes Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 66984.
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 Lukes Hospital

Compare: Cataract surgery with lens implant at other MN hospitals

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