Level 4 Intraocular Procedures — what U.S. hospitals charge
APC 5494 · Hospital outpatient visit · 1 U.S. hospitals publish a price
Cheapest quarter
under $138,444
Typical charge
$138,444
Dearest quarter
over $138,444
Actually paid
$17,419
The middle U.S. hospital bills $138,444 for Level 4 Intraocular Procedures. The dearest hospitals charge about 1.0x what the cheapest do for the same coded work. Medicare actually paid about $17,419 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.
Where Level 4 Intraocular Procedures is charged least
Hospitals that performed it at least eleven times, so a single case cannot set the figure.
| Hospital | Charged | Actually paid |
|---|---|---|
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$138,444 | $17,419 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Ucsf Medical Center
San Francisco, CA |
$138,444 | $17,419 |
Questions people ask
What do U.S. hospitals charge for Level 4 Intraocular Procedures?
Across 1 U.S. hospitals, the middle charge for Level 4 Intraocular Procedures is $138,444. Half of hospitals charge less than that and half charge more. The cheapest quarter charge under $138,444 and the dearest quarter over $138,444.
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 4 Intraocular Procedures, the hospitals in the dearest tenth charge about 1.0x 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. $17,419 is roughly what Medicare actually paid per case, against an average charge of $138,444. 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 5494: “Level 4 Intraocular Procedures”. An APC covers one outpatient visit for that level of service — you go home the same day.