Compare Published Hospital Prices
Across Texas

Hospital price transparency files contain several different types of prices. Gross charges are the hospital's full list prices before any discounts. These are rarely what anyone actually pays, but they serve as the starting point for negotiations. Cash prices (sometimes called self-pay or uninsured rates) are the discounted rates hospitals offer to patients paying out of pocket. Negotiated rates are the prices that each insurance company has agreed to pay the hospital for a specific service.

Prices vary dramatically between insurers at the same hospital because each plan negotiates its own rates independently. Medicare and Medicaid rates are set by the federal government and are typically the lowest. Commercial insurance rates can be two to five times higher than Medicare for the same service at the same facility.

The facility fees shown in transparency data do not include physician fees. When you visit an emergency room, for example, you will receive a separate bill from the doctor who treated you. Labs, imaging, and other ancillary services are also billed separately.