CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, head (with and without contrast)

Facility: Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health

Billing Code: 70470 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$167

about 0.9× the $179 Medicare rate · typically $165–$266

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$166

About the fair price

about $1 under the fair price · 0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $179 Fair price $167 This hospital $166 Cash price $1,942 Hospital's list price $3,885

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NC hospitals

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

Cheapest $134 Priciest $166

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 NC 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 CT scan, head (with and without contrast) is about $167 (about 0.9× the $179 Medicare rate). Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health charges insurers about $166, or about $1,942 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Charlotte, NC.

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	$53 - $1,973	30%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$56 - $2,250	31%
Aetnamajor	$58 - $2,836	32%
Cignamajor	$56 - $3,108	31%
Humanamajor	$57 - $3,186	32%
Ambetter (Centene)	$1,129 - $1,834	630%
AmeriHealth	$53 - $847	30%
Health Net	$1,717	958%
Molina	$396	221%
WellCare	$53 - $863	30%
+ 19 smaller / regional plans	$53 - $3,885

Excludes 3 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 1,942), 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: 70470.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70470.
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 Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health

Compare: CT scan, head (with and without contrast) at other NC hospitals

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