Cataract surgery with lens implant in Seattle, WA costs $2,952 to $16,790. Here's every hospital's price.
2 hospitals in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area publish a cash price for cataract surgery with lens implant (CPT 66984). We read their files every month so you don't have to.
Across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, 2 hospitals list a cash price for cataract surgery with lens implant (CPT 66984). The lowest is $2,952 at Virginia Mason Medical Center, the median is $2,952 and the highest is $16,790 at Valley Medical Center. The most expensive hospital lists 5.7 times the cheapest for the same code.
The Seattle, WA median of $2,952 is 6% below the national median of $3,136 across 420 US hospitals with a cash price for this code.
14 of these hospitals also publish the rates they negotiated with insurers, from $10 to $19,900. With insurance you pay a share of the negotiated rate, which is sometimes higher than the cash price; you may ask for the cash price instead.
The files behind these prices are dated between January 2026 and April 2026. 13 other hospitals in the metro area have no readable price for this code: some publish no file, some block automated reading, some leave the code out. They are listed below so you can call them.
Sorted by cash price
Hospital facility fee onlySeattle · 24 mi · File Jan 2026
Renton · 18 mi · File Mar 2026
Everett · 39 mi · File Apr 2026
Seattle · 24 mi · File Apr 2026
Bellevue · 19 mi · File Apr 2026
Federal Way · 27 mi · File Feb 2026
What's in the price
The hospital facility fee for CPT 66984. The doctor, anesthesia and lab work usually bill separately.
Cash vs. insured
Cash is what you pay without insurance. With insurance you pay a share of the negotiated rate, which can be higher than cash. You may ask for the cash price.
What to say on the phone
"I'd like the self-pay price for CPT 66984, in writing, and whether it covers facility, physician and anesthesia."
About cataract surgery with lens implant
CPT 66984 is the standard cataract operation: the cloudy natural lens is broken up with ultrasound and replaced with an artificial lens. It takes 15 to 30 minutes, is done under local anesthesia with light sedation, and you go home the same day. It is one of the most common operations in the United States.
What the price covers
The hospital's price is the facility fee for the operating room, nursing, the phacoemulsification equipment, the standard single-focus lens and recovery. The ophthalmologist and the anesthesia provider bill separately. Premium lenses (multifocal, toric for astigmatism) are not part of the covered procedure and are charged on top, usually $1,000 to $3,000 per eye, often directly by the surgeon.
Why prices vary
Hospital outpatient departments are consistently more expensive than ambulatory surgery centers for the same operation, sometimes by a factor of two or three. Within hospitals, the spread follows system size and ownership. Medicare pays for most cataract surgery in the US, so hospitals' negotiated rates cluster; the cash prices vary far more.
Questions to ask
- What is the self-pay price for 66984 per eye, and does it include the standard lens?
- What does the surgeon charge, and what does anesthesia charge?
- If I choose a premium lens, what is the extra charge and who bills it?
- Would the same surgeon do it at an ambulatory surgery center for less?
Hospitals in Seattle, WA without a price for this procedure
Listed so you know who to call. The reason is what we found on their website.
- Cascade Valley Hospitalcode not in file
- Evergreenhealth Medical CenterWebsite blocks automated reading
- Evergreenhealth MonroeWebsite blocks automated reading
- Harborview Medical CenterWebsite blocks automated reading
- Kaiser Permanente Central HospitalFile could not be read
- Mary Bridge Children's HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- Multicare Auburn Medical CenterWebsite blocks automated reading
- Multicare Covington Medical CenterWebsite blocks automated reading
- Multicare Good Samaritan HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- Seattle Children's HospitalFile in an unsupported format
- Snoqualmie Valley HospitalNo website on record
- Tacoma General Allenmore HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- University of Washington Medical CtrWebsite blocks automated reading