How much does a colonoscopy cost?
What a colonoscopy costs depends on who is paying. Without insurance, the figure to use is a hospital's cash price, and the hospitals below publish theirs. For people on Medicare, what Medicare pays for a diagnostic colonoscopy in 2026 averages $1,114 in total at a hospital outpatient department, of which the patient pays about $222, or $674 at an ambulatory surgical center with the patient paying about $134, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; that is the government's rate for Medicare patients, and a private plan or a cash payer is charged its own price. There is no national figure for what private insurance pays: FAIR Health's consumer cost lookup, the nearest thing to one, gives estimates only for a ZIP code you enter, so it is not quoted here. Boston Medical Center publishes $3,232.00 as the list price for a diagnostic colonoscopy, CPT 45378, and $1,454.40 as the price it will accept from a patient paying cash, in a file it last updated on 13 March 2026. A screening colonoscopy for a high-risk individual, G0105, is $2,198.00 and $989.10. Those are the numbers, and the reason this page carries them from one hospital rather than three is worth more than a third column would have been. The University of Chicago Medical Center publishes the colonoscopy-with-biopsy code SIX different prices, from $289.00 to $7,767.00, under six chargemaster descriptions on the same day, so no single figure from that file means anything on its own. Franklin Memorial Hospital publishes the same codes with no list price and no cash price at all, only rates agreed with insurers, and splits one code between a hospital charge and a separate physician charge. One federal rule, three files, and only one of them answers the question a reader is actually asking.
$3,232.00 list, $1,454.40 cash
CPT 45378, a diagnostic colonoscopy, at one hospital on 13 March 2026
$2,198.00 list, $989.10 cash
G0105, a screening colonoscopy for someone at high risk, at the same hospital
$289.00 to $7,767.00
what a second hospital publishes for ONE code, CPT 45380, across six descriptions
$1,114
what Medicare pays in total, Medicare patients only, a diagnostic colonoscopy, hospital outpatient, 2026
$674
what Medicare pays in total, Medicare patients only, a diagnostic colonoscopy, ambulatory surgical center, 2026
Cost breakdown
Each table below comes from one source, named underneath it, with the date that source last revised the figures. Everything is a United States figure in USD.
Boston Medical Center, by code, from its file last updated 13 March 2026
| Code | Description, as the file prints it | Gross charge | Cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45378 | HC Colonoscopy Flx Dx W/Collj Spec When Pfrmd | $3,232.00 | $1,454.40 |
| 45380 | HC Colonoscopy W/Biopsy Single/Multiple | $3,516.00 | $1,582.20 |
| 45385 | HC Colsc Flx W/Rmvl of Tumor Polyp Lesion Snare Tq | $3,464.00 | $1,558.80 |
| 45384 | HC Colsc Flx W/Removal Lesion by Hot Bx Forceps | $4,031.00 | $1,813.95 |
| 45381 | HC Colsc Flx With Directed Submucosal Njx Any Sbst | $3,064.00 | $1,378.80 |
| 45388 | HC Colonoscopy Flx Ablation Tumor Polyp/Other Les | $2,770.00 | $1,246.50 |
| G0105 | HC Colorectal Scrn; Hi Risk Ind | $2,198.00 | $989.10 |
The University of Chicago Medical Center: one code, CPT 45380, colonoscopy with biopsy
| Description, as the file prints it | Gross charge | Cash price |
|---|---|---|
| Pr Colonoscopy W/Biopsy Single/Multiple-Gast | $289.00 | $289.00 |
| Hc Research Colonoscopy Complete-Pbb | $2,767.00 | $2,767.00 |
| Pr Colonoscopy W/Biopsy Single/Multiple-Pbb | $3,064.00 | $3,064.00 |
| Hc Colonoscopy, Flexible; With Biopsy, Single Or Multiple-Pbb | $4,703.00 | $4,703.00 |
| Hc Research Colonoscopy Complete | $5,566.00 | $5,566.00 |
| Hc Colonoscopy, Flexible; With Biopsy, Single Or Multiple | $7,767.00 | $7,767.00 |
Franklin Memorial Hospital publishes no list price and no cash price on these codes
| What the file gives for CPT 45378 | What it does not give |
|---|---|
| Rates agreed with named insurers, as a fee schedule | A gross charge. The field is empty on every colonoscopy row |
| A separate row described as Physician Rate, where Aetna MHACO Government is $176.56 and Aetna MHACO Commercial is $362.56 | A discounted cash price. That field is empty too, so this file cannot answer what a self-payer is charged |
| Rows marked facility and rows marked professional under the same code | One number for a colonoscopy. The hospital charge and the physician charge are two entries, so a reader who prices one has priced half |
Which published field answers which question
| What you are asking | The field that answers it |
|---|---|
| What does a colonoscopy cost without insurance? | The discounted cash price. Boston Medical Center publishes $1,454.40 for a diagnostic colonoscopy; two of the three files read for this page publish no cash price at all on these codes |
| What is the list price? | The gross charge, which is where a bill starts and almost nobody with insurance pays |
| Is a screening colonoscopy priced differently from a diagnostic one? | Yes, and they are different codes. G0105 is the screening code for someone at high risk and 45378 is the diagnostic code |
| Why can nobody quote me one number? | Because the code is decided during the procedure. Removing a polyp changes the code, and the codes are priced differently |
| Does the price include the doctor? | Not necessarily. Franklin Memorial Hospital publishes the hospital charge and a separate Physician Rate under the same code |
What Medicare pays for colonoscopy, 2026, for Medicare patients only: the total and the patient's share
| Procedure | Code | Hospital outpatient total | Patient pays | Surgical center total | Patient pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screening colonoscopy, average risk | G0121 | $1,115 | $0 | $675 | $0 |
| Diagnostic colonoscopy | 45378 | $1,114 | $222 | $674 | $134 |
| Colonoscopy with biopsy | 45380 | $1,399 | $279 | $833 | $166 |
| Colonoscopy with polyp removal (snare) | 45385 | $1,445 | $288 | $879 | $175 |
A bar for each row of the table above, 7 of them, drawn to the same scale so the spread is visible at a glance. The figure beside each bar is the one the table prints.
What changes the price
- What the endoscopist finds, which decides the code
- This is why a quote beforehand is a range and not a number. At Boston Medical Center a diagnostic colonoscopy is $3,232.00, one that takes a biopsy is $3,516.00, one that removes a polyp by snare is $3,464.00 and one that removes a lesion with hot forceps is $4,031.00. The decision between those is made while you are asleep.
- Screening or diagnostic
- They are different codes and they are priced differently. Boston Medical Center publishes G0105, the screening code for a high-risk individual, at $2,198.00 against $3,232.00 for the diagnostic code 45378, and the cash prices differ in the same direction.
- Whether anyone is paying on your behalf
- Boston Medical Center publishes a gross charge of $3,232.00 and a cash price of $1,454.40 on the same row. The other two hospitals read for this page publish no cash price at all on these codes, so at those two the question has no published answer rather than an expensive one.
- Which hospital, and whether its file can be read at all
- The University of Chicago Medical Center publishes six prices for one colonoscopy code, from $289.00 to $7,767.00. That is not a range a patient chooses within; it is six chargemaster lines that share a code. A hospital can comply fully with the rule and still leave you unable to price the procedure.
- The hospital and the doctor are two bills
- Franklin Memorial Hospital makes this explicit by publishing a row it labels Physician Rate separately from its facility rows under the same code. A figure that covers the room and the scope but not the person holding it is not the cost of a colonoscopy.
- The date on the file
- Each figure is true as of the day its hospital attested to it, and the three files here span seven months. A rate changes when a contract does, and the file is the only thing that says when anyone last looked.
How to pay less
- Ask for the cash price by name, and ask whether there is one
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires a hospital to publish the price it will accept from a patient paying cash. Boston Medical Center publishes $1,454.40 for a diagnostic colonoscopy. Two of the three files read for this page leave that field empty on these codes, which is worth knowing before you assume a discount exists.
- Ask whether yours is booked as screening or diagnostic
- It is a different code and a different price before anything else is decided. At Boston Medical Center the screening code for a high-risk individual is $2,198.00 and the diagnostic code is $3,232.00.
- Ask what happens to the price if they remove something
- The answer is that the code changes, and the codes are priced separately. Asking in advance turns a surprise into a number you were told.
- Ask whether the doctor bills separately
- Franklin Memorial Hospital publishes a Physician Rate as its own row, so at least one hospital treats it as a separate charge and says so in the file. A quote for the facility alone is not the whole bill.
- Ask which chargemaster line your appointment sits on
- This sounds like an odd question and at The University of Chicago Medical Center it is the decisive one, because that file publishes six prices for a colonoscopy with biopsy and the description is the only thing separating them.
Questions
How much does a colonoscopy cost with Medicare?
Medicare's national average total for a diagnostic colonoscopy in 2026 is $1,114 in a hospital outpatient department, with the patient paying $222 on average, or $674 in an ambulatory surgical center, with the patient paying $134, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. With a private plan, your cost depends on its negotiated rate and your deductible; without insurance, ask for the cash price, which the hospital files on this page publish.
How much does a colonoscopy cost?
Boston Medical Center publishes $3,232.00 as the list price for a diagnostic colonoscopy and $1,454.40 as its cash price, in its own file dated 13 March 2026. That is one named hospital on one date rather than a national figure, and the other two hospitals read for this page do not publish a number that can be quoted at all.
How much is a colonoscopy without insurance?
Where a hospital publishes a cash price, that is the answer: $1,454.40 for a diagnostic colonoscopy at Boston Medical Center. Franklin Memorial Hospital and The University of Chicago Medical Center publish no usable cash price on these codes, so at those two it is a question to ask rather than one already answered.
Why do prices for a colonoscopy vary so much?
Two reasons, and only one of them is about hospitals differing. The code changes with what is found and removed, and each code is priced separately. On top of that, The University of Chicago Medical Center publishes six different prices for a single code across six chargemaster descriptions, from $289.00 to $7,767.00.
Is a screening colonoscopy cheaper than a diagnostic one?
At Boston Medical Center yes, and they are different codes. G0105, screening for a high-risk individual, is published at $2,198.00 with a cash price of $989.10, against $3,232.00 and $1,454.40 for the diagnostic code.
Does the price include the doctor?
Not necessarily, and one file says so outright. Franklin Memorial Hospital publishes a row labelled Physician Rate separately from its facility rows under the same code, with Aetna MHACO Government at $176.56 and Aetna MHACO Commercial at $362.56.
Why does this page use one hospital for the prices?
Because only one of the three publishes a figure that means anything on its own. Quoting a single number from a file that gives six for the same code would be choosing one at random and calling it the price.
Why does a hospital have to publish this?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires every hospital operating in the United States to publish a comprehensive machine-readable file of all items and services and a consumer-friendly display of shoppable services, names a colonoscopy as an example of a bundled shoppable service, states that it audits a sample of hospitals and investigates complaints, and states that hospitals may face civil monetary penalties for noncompliance.
Where these figures come from
Every figure here is published by the hospital named beside it, in US dollars, in the United States, in its own machine-readable standard charges file under 45 CFR 180.50, and each file carries the attestation that the information encoded is true, accurate and complete as of the date in the file. The dates are the ones the files give themselves: 13 March 2026 for Boston Medical Center, attested by Christopher Abate, 1 April 2026 for The University of Chicago Medical Center, attested by Chris Allen, and 9 September 2025 for Franklin Memorial Hospital, attested by Kenneth Olsen. All three files, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pages linked below, were read on 25 September 2026, and the two CMS pages on what a hospital must publish were read again on 9 October 2026. Figures are reproduced as each file publishes them, with thousands separators added and trailing zeros dropped. BEFORE ANY CODE WAS QUOTED, THE DISTINCT PUBLISHED PRICES FOR IT WERE COUNTED. Where a hospital publishes more than one price for a code, either every one of them is shown or that hospital is not quoted for that code, which is why the prices here come from one file and the other two appear as evidence about their own shape. Every figure is a facility charge unless the row says otherwise, and none includes the physician unless stated. Nothing here is averaged, turned into a ratio or restated as a typical cost.