CT scan, head (with contrast)
Facility: Meadville Medical Center
Billing Code: 70460 (CPT)
This hospital's typical commercial price is $227 compared to the $180 fair price benchmark.
4-Star CMS clinical quality rating paired with 1.26× fair market pricing.
Highest price of the 9 PA hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.
Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 PA hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.
Note: 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 CT scan, head (with contrast) is about $180 (about 1.0× the $179 Medicare rate). Meadville Medical Center charges insurers about $227, or about $836 in cash — above the fair price. Located in Meadville, PA.
This price is above the fair BaseRate — you may be able to pay less
Ask the hospital for the cash / self-pay price, check whether you qualify for financial assistance, or negotiate the bill down toward the fair price of about $180. Many patients pay well below the first number they’re quoted — the checklists below walk you through it.
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
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 | $183 - $479 | 102% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor | $183 - $565 | 102% |
| Aetnamajor | $183 - $550 | 102% |
| Cignamajor | $183 | 102% |
| Humanamajor | $183 | 102% |
| AmeriHealth | $80 | 45% |
| Geisinger | $80 - $187 | 45% |
| HealthPartners | $80 | 45% |
| UPMC Health Plan | $147 - $183 | 82% |
| + 1 smaller / regional plan | $183 |
Self-Pay How to get the cash price
Insurance Before you use insurance
Estimate your out-of-pocket cost
A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.
Other Procedures at Meadville Medical Center
Compare: CT scan, head (with contrast) at other PA hospitals
- Penn Highlands Connellsville · Connellsville $96
- Reading Hospital · West Reading $102
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · Philadelphia $120
- UPMC Altoona · Altoona $123
- Allegheny Valley Hospital · Natrona $124
- Allegheny General Hospital · Pittsburgh $124
- Pottstown Hospital · Pottstown $124
- Canonsburg General Hospital · Canonsburg $124
Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.
Audit a Bill or Quote at Meadville Medical Center (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $506
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (36.3% of gross = $506).
Self-Pay Cash Rate ($836) Beats Your Bill
Meadville Medical Center's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $836 (vs. $227 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $180 Fair BaseRate ($179 Medicare)
Your bill ($1,394) is $1,214 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($180) and 7.8× the $179 Medicare rate.
Clinical Quality, Patient Experience & Infection Benchmarks
Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare. Clinical quality metrics summarize historical facility-wide cohorts and are not medical advice for individual care decisions.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
Verify the Raw Data: Official Hospital MRF, CMS Medicare.gov & Federal Filings
Safe-Harbor Data Corrections: Parsed directly from public 45 CFR § 180 hospital filings, CMS Care Compare, and CMS HCRIS cost reports. Hospital compliance officers may submit updated MRF URLs or rate tables for verification.