CMS Price Transparency Data

Cataract surgery with lens implant

Facility: Penn State Health St. Joseph

Billing Code: 66984 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$2,161

about 0.9× the $2,358 Medicare rate · typically $635–$3,072

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$2,347

About the fair price

about $186 over the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $2,358 Fair price $2,161 This hospital $2,347 Cash price $3,856 Hospital's list price $14,825

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 $672 Priciest $2,347

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 PA hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

A fair price for a Cataract surgery with lens implant is about $2,161 (about 0.9× the $2,358 Medicare rate). Penn State Health St. Joseph charges insurers about $2,347, or about $3,856 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Reading, PA.

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	$2,347 - $10,037	100%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$1,995 - $12,757	85%
Aetnamajor	$2,371 - $7,572	101%
Cignamajor	$9,095	386%
Humanamajor	$2,371	101%
AmeriHealth	$1,995 - $2,347	85%
Cigna HealthSpring	$2,371	101%
Geisinger	$2,112 - $10,695	90%
HealthPartners	$2,183 - $2,394	93%
UPMC Health Plan	$2,394 - $10,953	102%
+ 3 smaller / regional plans	$2,195 - $7,368

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 3,856), 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: 66984.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Penn State Health St. Joseph is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 66984.
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 Penn State Health St. Joseph

Compare: Cataract surgery with lens implant at other PA hospitals

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