The prices of standard medical services continue to vary wildly across the U.S., even within the same cities, according to the 2015 U.S. Costliest Cities Analysis by Castlight Health.
In fact, in New York City, patients pay anywhere from $14 to $1,070 for the same cholesterol test. This is a 76x difference — the largest found in the study.
To find these price differentials, Castlight examined medical claims data, publicly available data, provider information and provider rate sheets of common medical procedures in the 30 most populous cities in the country. This year, Castlight added four women's health procedures to the study: OB/GYN follow-up visits, preventative gynecological exams, mammograms and HPV tests.
Here is a breakdown of where procedures cost the most.
- Routine exam with a primary care physician: Minneapolis and San Francisco
- Preventive gynecological exam: San Francisco
- HPV test: San Francisco
- OB/GYN follow up visit: Minneapolis and Seattle
- Mammogram: New York City
- Head/brain CT scan: Indianapolis and Charlotte, N.C.
- Lower back MRI: Indianapolis
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