Level 3 Upper GI Procedures — what U.S. hospitals charge
APC 5303 · Hospital outpatient visit · 589 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $16,353
Typical charge
$21,876
Dearest quarter
over $28,731
Actually paid
$3,653
The middle U.S. hospital bills $21,876 for Level 3 Upper GI Procedures. The dearest hospitals charge about 3.2x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $3,653 per case.
These are charges, not quotes. What you pay depends on your insurance and your own case. The figures matter because the charge is where an uninsured or out-of-network bill starts.
Level 3 Upper GI Procedures cost by state
The middle charge in each state where at least three hospitals publish a price, cheapest first.
| State | Hospitals | Typical charge | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 5 | $12,010 | $9,692 – $24,653 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | $12,271 | $10,407 – $13,354 |
| Maine | 4 | $13,708 | $13,118 – $14,633 |
| Missouri | 18 | $14,130 | $7,818 – $82,613 |
| Utah | 4 | $14,430 | $12,586 – $14,921 |
| Minnesota | 10 | $14,993 | $9,585 – $21,612 |
| Montana | 5 | $15,104 | $11,257 – $28,377 |
| Virginia | 16 | $15,606 | $6,278 – $100,776 |
| Michigan | 13 | $16,033 | $9,235 – $27,404 |
| Massachusetts | 16 | $16,189 | $8,076 – $32,496 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | $16,322 | $12,966 – $16,608 |
| Oregon | 6 | $16,409 | $13,007 – $25,621 |
| Arkansas | 3 | $16,534 | $8,797 – $18,523 |
| Idaho | 5 | $16,741 | $11,784 – $18,107 |
| North Dakota | 3 | $17,248 | $11,247 – $28,731 |
| Tennessee | 14 | $17,303 | $5,173 – $38,311 |
| South Dakota | 3 | $17,606 | $17,498 – $20,593 |
| Delaware | 3 | $17,611 | $10,166 – $33,328 |
| Ohio | 25 | $18,118 | $1,481 – $41,418 |
| Mississippi | 4 | $18,155 | $17,044 – $61,731 |
| Hawaii | 3 | $18,219 | $12,376 – $19,717 |
| Nebraska | 6 | $18,406 | $15,964 – $31,582 |
| New Hampshire | 3 | $18,710 | $17,907 – $22,583 |
| North Carolina | 17 | $18,736 | $11,230 – $36,262 |
| New York | 37 | $18,972 | $8,086 – $51,191 |
| Connecticut | 5 | $19,362 | $10,198 – $25,939 |
| Iowa | 6 | $20,716 | $10,360 – $27,338 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | $20,915 | $15,715 – $35,891 |
| Kansas | 6 | $21,015 | $6,909 – $31,681 |
| South Carolina | 11 | $21,691 | $16,686 – $44,169 |
| Louisiana | 7 | $21,837 | $14,297 – $36,975 |
| New Mexico | 4 | $21,978 | $11,063 – $33,471 |
| Washington | 16 | $22,000 | $12,492 – $28,079 |
| Arizona | 13 | $22,010 | $11,658 – $39,482 |
| Illinois | 27 | $22,762 | $7,710 – $42,813 |
| Kentucky | 13 | $22,944 | $11,664 – $36,130 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | $24,274 | $9,655 – $55,825 |
| New Jersey | 23 | $25,352 | $9,521 – $55,549 |
| Indiana | 16 | $25,487 | $11,945 – $38,111 |
| Florida | 36 | $25,580 | $13,808 – $81,074 |
| Georgia | 16 | $26,010 | $14,895 – $71,518 |
| Colorado | 11 | $26,323 | $16,023 – $60,209 |
| Pennsylvania | 27 | $27,603 | $14,046 – $54,943 |
| Alabama | 8 | $28,126 | $10,686 – $80,103 |
| California | 46 | $28,223 | $12,537 – $154,831 |
| Texas | 43 | $28,593 | $12,778 – $75,991 |
| Nevada | 4 | $42,358 | $32,186 – $72,019 |
Where Level 3 Upper GI Procedures is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Bethesda North
Cincinnati, OH |
$1,481 | $353 |
|
Methodist Medical Center Of Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, TN |
$5,173 | $3,158 |
|
Inova Fairfax Hospital
Falls Church, VA |
$6,278 | $3,289 |
|
Winchester Medical Center
Winchester, VA |
$6,424 | $3,766 |
|
Parkwest Medical Center
Knoxville, TN |
$6,585 | $3,159 |
|
Kansas Medical Center Llc
Andover, KS |
$6,909 | $3,270 |
|
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
Fairfax, VA |
$7,686 | $3,591 |
|
Silver Cross Hospital And Medical Centers
New Lenox, IL |
$7,710 | $3,542 |
|
Inova Alexandria Hospital
Alexandria, VA |
$7,789 | $3,435 |
|
Mercy Hospital South
Saint Louis, MO |
$7,818 | $3,408 |
|
Trinity Medical Ctr East &Trinity Medical Ctr West
Steubenville, OH |
$8,049 | $3,259 |
|
Lowell General Hospital
Lowell, MA |
$8,076 | $4,113 |
Where it is charged most
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Good Samaritan Hospital
San Jose, CA |
$154,831 | $5,393 |
|
Cjw Medical Center
Richmond, VA |
$100,776 | $3,297 |
|
Lewisgale Medical Center
Salem, VA |
$83,404 | $3,297 |
|
Adventist Health Lodi Memorial
Lodi, CA |
$82,893 | $4,810 |
|
Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center
Poplar Bluff, MO |
$82,613 | $3,449 |
|
Hca Florida Largo Hospital
Largo, FL |
$81,074 | $3,469 |
|
Flowers Hospital
Dothan, AL |
$80,103 | $3,289 |
|
Medical City Plano
Plano, TX |
$75,991 | $3,447 |
|
Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center
Thousand Oaks, CA |
$75,509 | $4,708 |
|
Southern Hills Hospital And Medical Center
Las Vegas, NV |
$72,019 | $4,102 |
|
Doctors Hospital
Augusta, GA |
$71,518 | $3,241 |
|
Grandview Medical Center
Birmingham, AL |
$71,026 | $2,941 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Level 3 Upper GI Procedures?
Across 589 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Level 3 Upper GI Procedures is $21,876. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $16,353 and the dearest quarter over $28,731.
Why do hospitals charge such different amounts for the same procedure?
Because a hospital charge is a list price it sets itself, not a regulated rate. For Level 3 Upper GI Procedures, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 3.2x what the cheapest tenth charge for the same coded work. Insurers negotiate their own rates from those lists, which is why the charge and what is actually paid can be very far apart.
Is that what I would actually pay?
No. $3,653 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $24,296. If you have insurance, your plan pays a negotiated rate and you pay your deductible and coinsurance. If you are uninsured or out of network, the hospital's charge is where your bill starts — which is why the gap matters. Ask for a written good-faith estimate before treatment.
What this code covers
CMS records this work as APC 5303: “Level 3 Upper GI Procedures”. An APC covers one outpatient visit for that level of service — you go home the same day.