CMS Price Transparency Data

Ultrasound, thyroid and neck

Facility: Essentia Health

Billing Code: 76536 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$106

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

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$106

About the fair price

1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $106 This hospital $106 Cash price $407 Hospital's list price $543

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other ND hospitals

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

Cheapest $50 Priciest $351

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 ND 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 Ultrasound, thyroid and neck is about $106 (about 1.0× the $107 Medicare rate). Essentia Health charges insurers about $106, or about $407 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Fargo, ND.

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✓ Cigna HumanaKaiser 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	$106 - $433	99%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$106 - $367	99%
Aetnamajor	$462	433%
Cignamajor	$364	341%
HealthPartners	$106 - $364	99%
Medica	$106 - $344	99%
Sanford Health Plan	$188 - $245	176%
Security Health Plan	$106	99%
UCare	$106 - $357	99%
+ 11 smaller / regional plans	$106 - $418

Government programs also on file: Medicare.

Excludes 2 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 407), 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: 76536.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Essentia Health is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 76536.
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 Essentia Health

Compare: Ultrasound, thyroid and neck at other ND hospitals

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