Cash Price

A cash price is what a facility charges when a patient pays directly at the time of service, with no insurance claim filed. It bypasses the entire billing, coding, denial, and collections machine — which is expensive to run — so cash prices are often dramatically lower than the negotiated rate your plan would pay.

Texas has some of the best cash-price transparency in the country. Texas Free Market Surgery in Austin publishes bundled cash prices for over 200 procedures — a knee arthroscopy runs about $4,150 all-in (surgeon, anesthesia, facility, follow-up). Surgery Center of Oklahoma, just across the border, does the same and draws Texans regularly. A shoulder MRI at Green Imaging is $475 cash. Meanwhile, the same scan billed through insurance at a hospital-owned imaging center can generate a $3,000 allowed amount and a $1,200 patient responsibility after coinsurance. For a member on a high-deductible plan, cash is often the lower-cost path even before the plan pays a dime.

The takeaway: for planned, non-emergency care, always price the cash option alongside the insurance option. If cash is lower than your deductible responsibility, pay cash and submit a claim for out-of-pocket credit if your plan allows.