CMS Price Transparency Data

Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)

Facility: Mercy Hospital of Buffalo

Billing Code: 93306 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$182

about 0.3× the $558 Medicare rate · typically $101–$326

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$188

About the fair price

about $6 over the fair price · 0.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $558 Fair price $182 This hospital $188 Cash price $664 Hospital's list price $664

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NY hospitals

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

Cheapest $107 Priciest $188

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 NY 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 $182 (about 0.3× the $558 Medicare rate). Mercy Hospital of Buffalo charges insurers about $188, or about $664 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Buffalo, NY.

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	$46 - $255	8%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$56 - $469	10%
Aetnamajor	$66 - $197	12%
Cignamajor	$66 - $273	12%
Humanamajor	$66 - $197	12%
Amerigroup	$56 - $214	10%
Fidelis Care	$59 - $469	11%
Independent Health	$56 - $1,482	10%
MagnaCare	$66 - $188	12%
Molina	$126 - $480	23%
MVP Health Care	$91 - $253	16%
UPMC Health Plan	$74 - $338	13%
WellCare	$69 - $207	12%
+ 16 smaller / regional plans	$56 - $1,243

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid, Military & VA.

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (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 664), 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 Mercy Hospital of Buffalo 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 Mercy Hospital of Buffalo

Compare: Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) at other NY hospitals

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