Colonoscopy Cost - Buyer Experiences and Price Information

This is for hospital charges only. Don't know whether Physician will send separate bill. If I didn't have VA don't know how I could have this done.

Insurance company was billed $11,530. They paid out $5872 and my co-pay was $100. I was at the hospital for literally 3 hours. This is what is wrong with our health care system. Who can afford such a test without insurance?! I am lucky to have good health insurance but had NO idea that these tests cost so much money! It is totally ridiculous!

If every one paid with cash for their regular and preventative care costs would be much lower. Maybe $45 for a doctors visit and $700 for a colonoscopy. Insurance companies are the problem in the market. I am a physician employed by the hospital and get paid $160-$185 for each colonoscopy. Where the rest of the money goes don't ask me.

Both my wife and I have had this procedure at the same price of $750.00 each. I really don't understand where all these unbelivable prices are coming from. This $750.00 out of pocket with nothing being paid by the insurance company as we had not reached our deductable yet... Got to love Virginia!!!!

I had a colonoscopy & endoscopy for $1,000 (the anesthesiologist fee was $350, I was completely sedated) I am surprised by the amount others have paid, especially since they have insurance and I don't.

I just had a colonscopy this morning.(10 year interval) My total cost was $34 for the PEGLYTE. The care was superb and equipment was state of the art.I live in a remote area of Canada in Cold Lake, Alberta about 7 hours drive north of the US Border.My wait time was 2.5 months from my doctor visit.

At 63years old with history of polys (2-3) after last 3 colonoscopies and family hx. of cancer I can no longer afford insurance and even if I had some insurance, cost would be out of reach. Husband is 80, retired and thankfully has VA medical. Private pay cost would be 2500 and up......our social security checks and my part time job just isn't going to allow it. Get my affairs in order and pray I'll be around to see 10 year old grandson graduate from high school.

based on my age (52), as part of my semiannual physical i was scheduled for a colonoscopy. I was told I had a $300 deductable, then %20. Now Aetna will only pay $500, says it is "Prevetitive" as opposed to a "Diagnostic" procedure. Same exact procedure. Lot of good it does to have insurance. GREED! This is why we need health reform.

Based on my age I was told I should get a colonoscopy done to check for colon cancer. I went to Gupta Gastro in Brooklyn, NY and received EXCELLENT care. They took care of me like I was part of their own families. INCLUDING the initial consultation and follow up exam I was only billed $850 in total. Definatly the cheapest costing clinic around, which you would never expect for the great care you receive and how well the facilities are maintained. I would highly recommend Gupta Gastro to everyone!

Now I understand why my mom died at 65. GREED by the insurance companies. She was not being cheap or scared of the procedure. She just skipped one because the cost was high way robbery. I hope God has a special place in hell for these crooks. My cost for colonostopy out of pocket $3400. I will soon have no health care. Premium and out of pocket now 28% fo my income. sad to say your next!

I am a survivor of 4 primary cancers. I had colon cancer, surgery & chemo. in 2008. I have to have a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy done each year. The total cost in 2009 was $14,524.00. No polyps. The bill makes no sense to me. I am going to start calling UCLA & my insurance to try to lower my bill, but I am not holding my breath. If I am successful by any chance I will post it.

A rountine colonoscopy can be done in a doctors offce by ANY trained MD without sedation in 20 to 25 minutes. SHOULD COST $175. But thats not enough for the healthcare industry. So they have created a entire industry, specialized clinics, sedation requirements, large overpaid staffs. Now the cost is $2000 to $7000. EXACTLY what the doctors, clinics and hospitals want...BIG $.

Just yesterday (12/18/09) went in for a routine colonscopy. I should have shopped around. Very lavish, over-staffed facilites catering to those with means ($) and fools like me. My cost for facilty use only nearly $1000. I am afraid on additional gauging yet to come, doctors bill, sedation costs, lab, etc, etc. Procedure lasts 20 minutes. Our healthcae system id DISCOURAING preventive measures. Or maybe the local Jewish Medical East of Louisville, KY is alone in it price gouging.

My husband received a "robo-call" reminder from UHC to "take advantage" of his covered colonoscopy screening. After visit to the doctor for a regular checkup,she recommended the screening since he is 54 years old. Not wanting any financial surprises, he called UHC to check on coverage. The screening was covered so he scheduled the colonoscopy, bought the jug of prep stuff and did the preadmission over the phone at the hospital. The preadmission rep told him that IF a polyp was found and removed, that at that time, the activity would be coded "diagnostic" and applied to our deductible (which is $5800 for family) He asked how much we'd be charged IF this was done. He was told, depending on the doctor, between $690-812 for the removal and between $1000-2000 for the outpatient services at the hospital. !!! Since we are already making payments on our share of the cost on the deductible from last year, he decided to forego any screening until a later date. He has average risk factors. His mom at age 78 had a polyp removed when she had her first colonoscopy at age 75. We're out the $20 buck for the prep he bought, but that beats having to make payments on $2800. We thought about "playing the odds" as chances are he won't have any polyps. But, I think it's unfair--kind of like a "bait and switch" scheme to have the colonoscopy covered by insurance but once the scope is up there and they see something and remove it, the definition changes and you're left with a big bill. Yes. We are self rationing care at this point based on general and personal statistics for the chances of developing colon cancer.

GI ASSOCIATES
my father has colon cancer so i felt i needed to do it. i will probably never have another one. not sure how i am going to pay this. it will probably tak me a year or more. unfortunately i am not good at calling to try and work something out. i guess if you do get one do not go there. i should have known to price around but it looks like it would not have helped. there is no reason to have an office full of nurses. when the medical personal is 2 or 3 times more than the patients you know there is going to be problems when it comes time to pay. would i rather wait for medical service or pay more? in this case i would rather wait. i guess this means i am for rationing.

I run a large GI Group and am researching the cost of Colonoscopy in the United States. In an outpatient setting we provide the facility, professional fee, and anesthesia for patients without insurance or high deductible for a total of $1400. I am shocked by the numbers quoted. I would like to know why patients ever have this done in a hospital; weren't they offered an outpatient setting. Have any patients used Academic centers; what were those costs?

Quick proceedure and only had to pay $50.00
Any vets out there can get medical coverage, even non-war veterans.

This is really helpful information. I am a Healthcare Economist conducting independent research on the itemized costs associated with colonoscopy. Would it be possible for a few individuals to provide me with the cost of recovery, post colonoscopy? This should be listed in the explanation of benefits from your insurance carrier. Thanks so much.

Out of pocket = $400 deductible and 20% rest. The facility charged $1000 each time the machine was used to remove polyp for a total of $3,000. The dr. charged almost $1,000 for each polyp removed. Laboratory fees were $1,024, anesthetician was $625. Haven't see the pathologist bill yet, so my out of pocket will be more than $897.75

Well, I had my Colonoscopy on October 20. Everything normal. no problems. I just received the paperwork this week. The insurance company was billed $6,000. BC paid $500. I'm out of pocket $116.74 for the doctor's office visit
only.

Conclusion: I would recommend to anyone who needs a routine colonsocopy to sign up for Anthem
Blue Cross Lumenos Plan. Deductible is waived and they cover 100% of the procedure.

I was wondering if anyone knows how do you know your doctor removed polyps?
If I choose a traditional plan its routine and just have the procedure you just have a $250 copay, but if they remove any polyps it becomes diagnostic and deductable must be met.

I paid $475 for a colonoscopy (with anesthesia) and removal of polyps. Hurray for Kaiser Permanente, which provides excellent care at non-profit prices for its members. My husband and I are delighted with Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles.

This is why physicians enter "procedure based" specialities -- they can get more reimbursement for doing something physically (using a camera, operating a piece of equipment, performing a surgery, etc) rather than simply problem-solving a symptom and prescribing a medication for a problem. This is why a Gastroenterologist typically gets paid several times (probably 2-4times) what a Family Practice specialist gets paid / year.

I just received the EOB from BC/BS showing the doctor's billed charges: $23,000. This is NOT a typo. BC/BS wants additional info from me so my share is not known yet. How can a routine colonoscopy cost so much? It's the first one I've had and the billed amount has me almost in cardiac arrest.

went in for colonoscopy & endoscopy figuring only 1 visit and will only have to pay once to be knocked out. so far i do not think it was worth it. no polyps, just a twisted intestine. opened the bill last week and almost had to go back in for a heart attack. lol! total bill was just shy of $11,000 ! insurance covered most of it leaving me about $1,200 out of pocket. i was expecting about $600 for my share. still waiting on a detailed bill to arrive because aurora just gives a grand total minus what insurance covers

I'm under 50 (38) and had this procedure performed due to a family history of cancer. I've lost two siblings and my father has had a colectomy. With a PPO from Aetna and a $1000 deductible

CPMC billed me $5,265.67, of which Aetna covered $1,683.04 leaving me with $2,266.21 out of pocket.

CPMC charged me $111 for a 500ml saline drip, $109 for a pulse/o2 sensor and ~$110 each for the two sedatives, which Aetna classified as "hospital incidentals". I think anyone who's had a colonoscopy wouldn't consider these "incidental". I've filed a complaint with Aetna and California Dept of Managed Health Care.

Virtual Colonoscopy ( CT ) cost $1,200 at Princeton Longevity Center in NJ. Insurance covered about $200, and $1,000 was out of pocket cost for me. No polyp found ( about 1/2 of the cases ) and No Anaesthesia was required. Just a 20 minutes of procedure with very little discomfort. I recommend this highly.

Blue Cross is the only insurance carrier that will cover the cost of a Preventive Colonscopy
via their Lumenos HSA Plan. The premium is about $251 a month.

Often times the National Institutes of Health is looking for normal volunteers to further research in various areas of medicine. Most recently I participated in a research protocol in which they did the routine colonoscopy while taking samples of my colon wall. Sometimes they actually pay you for these procedures. They have a website.

I get this procedure every year due to Ulcerative Colitis. The cost was 3 times as much as the customary charge. Mayo would not provide their customary charge and expects me to pay what is not covered by my insurance. My insurance covered $2000 of their charge.