Examining the cost of common outpatient services in different cities, the Castlight study illuminates the wide range of primary care costs across the United States.
Something as simple as a preventative primary care visit can be extraordinarily expensive even within an insurance-approved network.
According to Castlight Health, the top 15 cities with the most expensive primary care visits based on the average price per visit are as follows:
1. San Francisco – $251
2. Sacramento, Calif. – $219
3. Portland, Ore. – $216
4. Minneapolis – $209
5. Charlotte, N.C. – $199
6. Boston – $193
7. Seattle – $189
8. Chicago – $165
9. Atlanta – $147
10. San Diego – $145
11. Dallas – $141
12. Washington, D.C. – $141
13. St. Louis – $140
14. Detroit – $139
15. Pittsburgh – $139
The average was calculated by Castlight using a series of data including medical claims data, publicly available data, provider information and actual provider rate sheets that list the negotiated price between a provider and an insurer.
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