About PricedCare

What this is

Every US hospital is required to publish a machine-readable file with its standard charges (45 CFR 180). PricedCare reads those files and shows what each hospital lists for common, shoppable procedures: the cash price, the negotiated rates by payer where the file includes them, and the gross charge.

Methodology and sources

Every price on this site links to the hospital file it came from and shows the date that file was published. We show only what is in the file. We do not estimate, model or fill in missing numbers, and we do not adjust prices. If a hospital has not published a usable file, we say so.

Who runs PricedCare

PricedCare is built and run by Martin S. Nielsen through his company Easyweb Systems, based in Denmark. Martin has built price-comparison sites since 2020 and reads the hospital files himself; the code that reads them and the wording on every page are his. There is no hospital, insurer or advertiser behind the site, and no one pays to be listed or ranked. Write to [email protected] or use the contact page.

Data sources

• Hospital list: CMS Hospital General Information (Care Compare), every Medicare-certified hospital with its CCN, address and type.
• File locations: each hospital's cms-hpt.txt at its website root, the machine-readable index CMS requires, plus historical file locations from public datasets.
• Prices: the hospital's machine-readable file in the CMS template (CSV or JSON, version 2 or 3). We read the shoppable codes on the CMS list.
• Geography: US Census core-based statistical areas (metro areas), ZIP and place centroids. Hospital coordinates come from the Census Bureau geocoder and, where it has no match, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). A hospital belongs to the metro of its ZIP code.

Files are re-read monthly. Procedure names are our own plain-English wording; CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association and its descriptions are not reproduced here.

When we publish a comparison

A procedure-and-metro comparison page is published only when at least three hospitals in that metro list a cash price for the code. Below that, the page exists for people who follow a link but is kept out of search engines. Hospitals without a readable file are listed with the reason we found.

Advertising and affiliate disclosure

PricedCare is free to use and is paid for by advertising. Some links, such as to insurance marketplaces, are affiliate links and may earn us a commission. Sponsored placements are marked. None of this changes the prices shown; they come from the hospital files unchanged.

What this is not

PricedCare is not medical advice and does not recommend treatments or providers. A listed price is what the hospital published, not a quote. What you pay depends on your insurance, your deductible and what is actually done during your visit. Confirm with the hospital and your insurer before care.