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Procedure price report · Consultation, evaluation, and preventative care

Critical care, first 30 to 74 minutes

CPT 99291the billing code this page is about

Covers the first 30 to 74 minutes of a clinician's direct critical care for a seriously ill or injured patient; additional time is billed separately in 30-minute blocks.

Hospitals typically charge $1,728 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 3,408 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,857. Most fall between $680 and $3,791 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
3,408
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 25, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 3,408 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$459$824$1,728$3,173$5,634

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($459 vs $5,634).

How the prices are spread

$314 – $435: 131 hospitals$314$435 – $601: 264 hospitals$601 – $832: 303 hospitals$601$832 – $1,150: 361 hospitals$1,150 – $1,591: 368 hospitals$1,150$1,591 – $2,200: 448 hospitals$2,200 – $3,042: 457 hospitals$2,200$3,042 – $4,207: 362 hospitals$4,207 – $5,818: 229 hospitals$4,207$5,818 – $8,047: 145 hospitals$5,818median $1,728price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (3,068 of 3,408 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$314$435131
$435$601264
$601$832303
$832$1,150361
$1,150$1,591368
$1,591$2,200448
$2,200$3,042457
$3,042$4,207362
$4,207$5,818229
$5,818$8,047145

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$844
Median cash price$1,728
Cash as a multiple of Medicare2.0×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,728.

Alaska: median $1,768 across 19 hospitalsAK$1,768Maine: median $930 across 27 hospitalsME$930Vermont: median $1,097 across 13 hospitalsVT$1,097New Hampshire: median $1,731 across 25 hospitalsNH$1,731Washington: median $2,034 across 76 hospitalsWA$2,034Idaho: median $2,309 across 24 hospitalsID$2,309Montana: median $693 across 34 hospitalsMT$693North Dakota: median $1,012 across 31 hospitalsND$1,012Minnesota: median $1,433 across 112 hospitalsMN$1,433Illinois: median $1,778 across 130 hospitalsIL$1,778Wisconsin: median $1,404 across 104 hospitalsWI$1,404Michigan: median $1,712 across 101 hospitalsMI$1,712New York: median $1,537 across 117 hospitalsNY$1,537Massachusetts: median $2,597 across 51 hospitalsMA$2,597Oregon: median $902 across 55 hospitalsOR$902Nevada: median $2,414 across 24 hospitalsNV$2,414Wyoming: median $1,011 across 16 hospitalsWY$1,011South Dakota: median $920 across 44 hospitalsSD$920Iowa: median $800 across 95 hospitalsIA$800Indiana: median $1,647 across 98 hospitalsIN$1,647Ohio: median $2,249 across 132 hospitalsOH$2,249Pennsylvania: median $1,409 across 124 hospitalsPA$1,409New Jersey: median $1,124 across 53 hospitalsNJ$1,124Connecticut: median $1,811 across 23 hospitalsCT$1,811Rhode Island: median $1,655 across 10 hospitalsRI$1,655California: median $4,500 across 213 hospitalsCA$4,500Utah: median $4,200 across 42 hospitalsUT$4,200Colorado: median $3,311 across 70 hospitalsCO$3,311Nebraska: median $1,381 across 80 hospitalsNE$1,381Missouri: median $2,145 across 81 hospitalsMO$2,145Kentucky: median $1,671 across 63 hospitalsKY$1,671West Virginia: median $1,258 across 41 hospitalsWV$1,258Virginia: median $2,535 across 72 hospitalsVA$2,535Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $2,764 across 55 hospitalsAZ$2,764New Mexico: median $1,500 across 32 hospitalsNM$1,500Kansas: median $637 across 93 hospitalsKS$637Arkansas: median $910 across 35 hospitalsAR$910Tennessee: median $1,033 across 85 hospitalsTN$1,033North Carolina: median $2,100 across 90 hospitalsNC$2,100South Carolina: median $2,562 across 52 hospitalsSC$2,562Oklahoma: median $921 across 70 hospitalsOK$921Louisiana: median $1,167 across 47 hospitalsLA$1,167Mississippi: median $529 across 56 hospitalsMS$529Alabama: median $1,091 across 42 hospitalsAL$1,091Georgia: median $1,828 across 105 hospitalsGA$1,828Hawaii: median $4,408 across 19 hospitalsHI$4,408Texas: median $2,506 across 247 hospitalsTX$2,506Florida: median $4,731 across 168 hospitalsFL$4,731
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,728. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL168$4,731+174%$1,703 – $7,809
California CA213$4,500+160%$1,420 – $7,392
Hawaii HI19$4,408+155%$3,713 – $4,966
Utah UT42$4,200+143%$2,835 – $6,207
Colorado CO70$3,311+92%$943 – $7,116
Arizona AZ55$2,764+60%$1,361 – $6,188
Massachusetts MA51$2,597+50%$1,104 – $3,970
South Carolina SC52$2,562+48%$1,576 – $3,210
Virginia VA72$2,535+47%$1,337 – $4,271
Texas TX247$2,506+45%$1,190 – $4,473
Nevada NV24$2,414+40%$898 – $4,424
Idaho ID24$2,309+34%$527 – $3,926
Ohio OH132$2,249+30%$1,247 – $3,779
Missouri MO81$2,145+24%$618 – $3,168
North Carolina NC90$2,100+22%$1,141 – $2,809
Washington WA76$2,034+18%$693 – $4,002
Georgia GA105$1,828+6%$482 – $2,947
Connecticut CT23$1,811+5%$830 – $2,738
Illinois IL130$1,778+3%$893 – $3,148
Alaska AK19$1,768+2%$903 – $3,851
New Hampshire NH25$1,7310%$332 – $2,491
Michigan MI101$1,712−1%$487 – $3,826
Kentucky KY63$1,671−3%$575 – $3,383
Rhode Island RI10$1,655−4%$624 – $1,746
Indiana IN98$1,647−5%$489 – $3,203
New York NY117$1,537−11%$539 – $3,714
New Mexico NM32$1,500−13%$672 – $2,187
Minnesota MN112$1,433−17%$645 – $2,051
Pennsylvania PA124$1,409−18%$766 – $4,182
Wisconsin WI104$1,404−19%$678 – $2,114
Nebraska NE80$1,381−20%$523 – $2,055
West Virginia WV41$1,258−27%$637 – $2,447
Louisiana LA47$1,167−32%$638 – $1,843
New Jersey NJ53$1,124−35%$933 – $3,519
Vermont VT13$1,097−37%$442 – $2,947
Alabama AL42$1,091−37%$675 – $1,968
Tennessee TN85$1,033−40%$436 – $1,748
North Dakota ND31$1,012−41%$589 – $2,283
Wyoming WY16$1,011−41%$612 – $2,602
Maine ME27$930−46%$593 – $1,548
Oklahoma OK70$921−47%$504 – $1,850
South Dakota SD44$920−47%$581 – $2,323
Arkansas AR35$910−47%$422 – $1,183
Oregon OR55$902−48%$499 – $2,568
Iowa IA95$800−54%$532 – $1,748
Montana MT34$693−60%$426 – $1,973
Kansas KS93$637−63%$420 – $1,569
Mississippi MS56$529−69%$333 – $1,297
Delaware DE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $1,728.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,356$2,100$903 – $4,408
Children’s49$3,026$607 – $4,949
Critical access993$986$505 – $2,146
Ownership
For-profit484$2,828$1,047 – $7,392
Government650$1,165$504 – $2,497
Non-profit2,264$1,796$704 – $3,717
System affiliation
Part of a system2,767$1,895$803 – $4,053
Independent641$1,026$466 – $2,524

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,324
Median cash price$1,728
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

2,595 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,930 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,042; most fall between $831 and $3,779.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 2,595 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$520$980$1,930$3,266$4,966

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.6× what the cheapest tenth charges ($520 vs $4,966).

Of the 2,736 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 2,595 gave a usable cash price; 30 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 111 a list price only.

How complete is this

3,408 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (86%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 3,595 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted3,408
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here62
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded2
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded123
Hospitals that filed this code3,595

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between July 20, 2026 and September 25, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 25, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Consultation, evaluation, and preventative care family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Critical Care Ill/Injured Patient Init 30-74 Min.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Critical care, first 30 to 74 minutes (CPT 99291) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-99291-critical-care-first-30-to-74-minutes