CMS Price Transparency Data

Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)

Facility: Central Vermont Medical Center

Billing Code: 93306 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$201

about 0.4× the $558 Medicare rate · typically $156–$433

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$156

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $45 under the fair price · 0.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $558 Fair price $201 This hospital $156 Cash price $2,791 Hospital's list price $2,791

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other VT hospitals

One of the lower prices — 5 of 7 other VT hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

Cheapest $100 Priciest $264

Black dot = this hospital, among the 8 VT 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 $201 (about 0.4× the $558 Medicare rate). Central Vermont Medical Center charges insurers about $156, or about $2,791 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Barre, VT.

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	$65 - $2,774	12%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$66 - $2,564	12%
Aetnamajor	$65 - $2,428	12%
Cignamajor	$166 - $2,640	30%
Humanamajor	$63 - $1,136	11%
Harvard Pilgrim	$405 - $2,233	73%
MVP Health Care	$66 - $2,579	12%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$65 - $2,233

Government programs also on file: 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 2,791), 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 Central Vermont 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 Central Vermont Medical Center

Compare: Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) at other VT hospitals

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