CMS Price Transparency Data

Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)

Facility: St Lukes Hospital

Billing Code: 93306 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$456

about 0.8× the $558 Medicare rate · typically $267–$511

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$176

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $280 under the fair price · 0.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $558 Fair price $456 This hospital $176 Cash price $1,479 Hospital's list price $2,718

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 $131 Priciest $231

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 Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) is about $456 (about 0.8× the $558 Medicare rate). St Lukes Hospital charges insurers about $176, or about $1,479 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.

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	$62 - $220	11%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$51 - $1,211	9%
Aetnamajor	$64 - $583	11%
Cignamajor	$1,138	204%
Humanamajor	$68 - $594	12%
HealthPartners	$64 - $577	11%
Medica	$51 - $220	9%
Security Health Plan	$50 - $1,473	9%
UCare	$49 - $67	9%
+ 1 smaller / regional plan	$50

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 1,479), 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: 93306.

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 93306.
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: Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) at other MN hospitals

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