CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, sinuses

Facility: Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health

Billing Code: 70486 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$110

about 1.0× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $105–$218

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$108

About the fair price

about $2 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $110 This hospital $108 Cash price $1,145 Hospital's list price $2,291

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 $100 Priciest $108

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, sinuses is about $110 (about 1.0× the $107 Medicare rate). Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health charges insurers about $108, or about $1,145 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	$39 - $1,164	37%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$38 - $1,327	36%
Aetnamajor	$39 - $1,672	37%
Cignamajor	$38 - $1,833	36%
Humanamajor	$39 - $1,878	37%
Ambetter (Centene)	$665 - $1,081	623%
AmeriHealth	$48 - $500	45%
Health Net	$1,013	948%
Molina	$264	247%
WellCare	$48 - $509	45%
+ 19 smaller / regional plans	$47 - $2,291

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 1,145), 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: 70486.

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 70486.
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, sinuses at other NC hospitals

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