CMS Price Transparency Data

Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex)

Facility: UPMC Altoona

Billing Code: 93970 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$200

about 0.8× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $117–$310

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$171

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $29 under the fair price · 0.7× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $200 This hospital $171 Cash price $1,053 Hospital's list price $1,755

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other PA hospitals

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

Cheapest $137 Priciest $171

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 PA 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, leg veins (duplex) is about $200 (about 0.8× the $244 Medicare rate). UPMC Altoona charges insurers about $171, or about $1,053 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Altoona, PA.

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	$120 - $900	49%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$158 - $878	65%
Aetnamajor	$114 - $930	47%
Cignamajor	$878	360%
AmeriHealth	$178	73%
Geisinger	$159 - $965	65%
HealthPartners	$172	71%
UPMC Health Plan	$126 - $522	52%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$195 - $1,404

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 1,053), 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: 93970.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm UPMC Altoona is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 93970.
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 UPMC Altoona

Compare: Ultrasound, leg veins (duplex) at other PA hospitals

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