CMS Price Transparency Data

Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)

Facility: Howard County Medical Center

Billing Code: 93306 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$167

about 0.3× the $558 Medicare rate · typically $139–$717

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$179

About the fair price

about $12 over the fair price · 0.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $558 Fair price $167 This hospital $179 Cash price $2,339 Hospital's list price $2,339

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NE hospitals

A typical price — 3 charge more and 5 charge less, among the 9 NE hospitals compared.

Cheapest $122 Priciest $361

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 NE 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 $167 (about 0.3× the $558 Medicare rate). Howard County Medical Center charges insurers about $179, or about $2,339 in cash — about the fair price. Located in St Paul, NE.

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✓ Humana CignaKaiser 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	$175 - $2,245	31%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$175 - $2,222	31%
Aetnamajor	$66 - $2,222	12%
Humanamajor	$149	27%
Ambetter (Centene)	$350	63%
Medica	$64 - $2,245	11%
Molina	$184 - $1,170	33%
Oscar Health	$306	55%
WellCare	$180	32%
+ 4 smaller / regional plans	$131 - $1,333

Government programs also on file: Military & VA.

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 2,339), 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 Howard County Medical Center 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 Howard County Medical Center

Compare: Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) at other NE hospitals

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