C-Sections vary from $7k to $64k depending on the hospital and insurer<\/p>\n
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recently released their Healthcare Accountability Annual Report 2026<\/a> (pdf), with data on price variation among hospitals in the city.<\/p>\n The report found that insurer-negotiated prices varied widely depending on the hospital and payer. At the low end, average prices for inpatient procedures at NYC Health + Hospitals, the city\u2019s public system, were 76% of Medicare rates. At the high end, NewYork-Presbyterian averaged 336% of Medicare.<\/p>\n Some services had extreme pricing differences. At St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, the c-section price negotiated with insurer Emblem was only $7,332. The same service at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital for patients with Healthfirst insurance was $63,753.\u00a0<\/p>\n Widespread price variation was found across the city, from emergency room visits to colonoscopies.<\/p>\n Table 1: Example variation between services<\/p>\n ServiceLowest rateHighest rateCesarean section\u00a0St. Barnabas Hospital\u00a0 Transparency<\/a> is supposed to be a tool for standardizing prices and lowering healthcare costs, but this report suggests that isn\u2019t happening. It also indicates that prices are the main driver of rising costs, not utilization.<\/p>\n Despite this trend, the average person may not be experiencing the effects of higher prices, at least not in their premiums. While premiums rose across every market examined, the report shows that private-sector employee contributions actually decreased in 2024. The authors write, \u201cThis may allow for consumers to feel their healthcare is more affordable or at least, not increasing, while the cost of care paid by employers continues to increase.\u201d<\/p>\n This pattern of extreme price variation among New York City hospitals reflects a national trend. A recent report from Patient Rights Advocate<\/a> found that prices for appendectomies at Indiana hospitals varied by 27x and prices for cervical spinal fusion at Kansas hospitals varied by 177x. Research on cardiac<\/a> and psychiatric care<\/a> pricing across different states and insurers have also found significant price variation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why are prices so high?<\/p>\n Why do some hospitals charge so much more than others? Generally, it\u2019s because they can. Analyses<\/a> of commercial<\/a> prices<\/a> find that greater market share is associated with higher prices; having more market power gives hospitals leverage to negotiate with insurance companies, because insurers can\u2019t exclude them from their network. While higher prices have been associated with better quality of care in areas with high competition<\/a>, in areas without competition there was no such association.<\/p>\n
Payer: Emblem
Price: $7,332NewYork-Presbyterian
Payer: Healthfirst
Price: $63,753Psychoses\u00a0Huntington Hospital
Payer: Cigna
Price: $2,580NYC Health + Hospitals
Payer: Healthfirst
Price: $301,978Colonoscopy\u00a0Flushing Hospital Medical Center
Payer: Healthfirst
Price: $643NewYork-Presbyterian
Payer: Emblem
Price: $12,701ED visit w\/ low level-decision makingNorthwell Health
Payer: Healthfirst
Price: $211NYU Langone
Payer: Anthem
Price: $5,570<\/p>\n