Helena Area Hospital Prices
Cash and insurance-negotiated prices at hospitals in and around Helena, MT. Part of all Montana hospital prices.
Pillar 1 · The BaseRate™ CompositeHow 1.00× Fair BaseRate Works: Raw price averages unfairly penalize hospitals in high-wage cities or trauma centers treating sicker patients. We adjust for local CMS hospital wage levels and patient complexity first. A 1.00× score means right at the fair price average, 0.85× means 15% cheaper than fair market, and 1.30× means 30% above fair market.Above Fair Market · Negotiate
1.09×vs. Fair Market Price
Position vs. 1.00× Fair Price+9% Above Fair Price
1.00× (center of the bar) is the U.S. fair price average after accounting for local hospital wages and patient complexity. Left of center (<1.00×) is below fair price; right of center (>1.00×) is above fair price.
Typical commercial prices here are +9% above the fair benchmark (1.09×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Pillar 2 · VeriRate™ Data TrustHow VeriRate™ (0–100) Works: Hospitals are legally required to publish machine-readable price files, but some bury fake $0.01 numbers or omit cash discounts. VeriRate audits each file across 5 checks (hover any badge below to see what it tests).86/100 · Verified
86/100Hover Any Check Below to See How Prices Were Audited
File Completeness90Provenance (File Completeness): Checks whether the hospital published a complete, up-to-date machine-readable price file with valid CPT and MS-DRG billing codes instead of leaving blanks.
Price Logic88Coherence (Price Logic): Checks whether the hospital’s numbers make basic sense — e.g., self-pay cash price is lower than gross list price, with no fake $0.01 or $999,999 placeholder numbers.
Peer Alignment86Concordance (Peer Alignment): Checks whether reported prices sit in a realistic range compared to Medicare and nearby hospitals rather than wild 100× unit errors.
Clean Billing83Regularity (Clean Billing): Checks whether rates are structured consistently across procedures without erratic statistical spikes or hidden unbundled facility fees.
Real Cash Discount84Cash Honesty (Real Cash Discount): Checks whether the hospital offers a genuine self-pay cash discount that beats or matches commercial insurance rates instead of billing full sticker price.
Pillar 3 · Montana Market & Best ValueSummarizes statewide hospital price coverage across Montana, the average commercial markup over federal Medicare rates, and the #1 best-value hospital in the state.2 Hospitals · 10 Procedures
Hospitals Priced2 in MTTotal hospitals in Montana with verified machine-readable price disclosures indexed in the Crystal.
Avg vs. Medicare1.4× MedicareAverage commercial insurance negotiated rate across Montana hospitals compared to what federal Medicare pays for the same procedure.
Best Value in MT1.09× FairLowest confounder-adjusted hospital in Montana: St Peters Health (Helena) at 1.09× fair market price.
Most affordable Montana hospital: St Peters Health (Helena) at 1.09× the fair price (1% below benchmark).
Behavioral Pricing FingerprintHigh Insurer Rate · Deep Cash Discount
Cash-Arbitrage Bifurcated Pricer
St Peters Health maintains elevated commercial insurance contracts (1.09× Fair BaseRate) while offering direct self-pay cash discounts that beat commercial negotiated medians on 40% of procedures. High-deductible and uninsured patients should always request the self-pay cash rate prior to billing.
#12 of 26 in MT · 42nd State Percentile#1,657 of 3,385 in U.S. · 48th National Percentile
Advantage
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Bottom-quartile procedures (Q25) price at 0.82× the peer BaseRate benchmark
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 40% of shoppable procedures (73/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (65/100 safety score) with 56% patient recommendation
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (90.0% AGB cap)
Watchout
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (1.09× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
- Captive ER (0.5×) & laboratory (0.6×) services average 1.45× higher multiples than routine shoppable care (1.1×)
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.42×) jump +46% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 0.97×)
- Consolidated metro market (HHI 8,107) limits in-network hospital competition (Highly Concentrated Monopoly (>2,500))
Front-Door ShoppableElective / Imaging
1.1× Medicare
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Back-Door Captive & ER1.45× Divergence
1.6× Medicare
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Quantile Tail Spread+46% Upper Tail
Q25 0.82× · Q50 0.97× · Q75 1.42×
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
Select any lens to inspect department markups, federal cost accounting, or insurer discounts.
Department & Integrity Multiples (vs. CMS Medicare Cost Anchor)
Green ≤1.3× · Teal 1.3–1.8× · Amber 1.8–2.5× · Rose >2.5×
Front-Door Shoppable CareFront-Door Shoppable
1.1× MedicareGood
Outpatient Surgery & ORBack-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI)Front-Door Shoppable
0.6× MedicareGood
Back-Door Captive ER VisitsBack-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Inpatient Lab & PathologyBack-Door Captive
0.6× MedicareGood
Specialty & Infusion Drugs (J-Codes)Back-Door Captive
0.5× MedicareGood
Self-Pay Cash Honesty & 501(r)Integrity & Outcomes
40% Cash Edge · 73/100Fair
CMS Clinical Safety & Star ValueIntegrity & Outcomes
3 CMS · 65/100Fair
Hospitals in the Helena area
Ranked by how their prices compare to the fair BaseRate — best value first. The × fair figure is geo-adjusted. Tap any hospital for its full price list.
- St Peters Health · Helena 84/100 96 priced 1.09× fair
- Shodair Children's Hospital · Helena 68/100 19 priced 1.13× fair
Compare prices by procedure in Helena
Local prices across Helena-area hospitals for 10 procedures.
- Blood test, cholesterol (lipid panel)
- Blood test, vitamin D
- New patient office visit (30-44 min)
- Occupational therapy (self-care training)
- Occupational therapy (therapeutic activities)
- Office visit, established patient (20-29 min)
- Office visit, established patient (30-39 min)
- Physical therapy (neuromuscular re-education)
- Physical therapy (therapeutic exercise)
- Speech therapy (language evaluation)
No procedures match that search.
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Prices are sourced from each hospital's federally-required public price file, most recently published October 2026. The BaseRate is a modeled fair-price estimate — not a bill or quote. How we build these numbers →