Cardiac Catheterization (Coronary Angiogram): what it covers and what it costs
What does a Cardiac Catheterization (Coronary Angiogram) cost? Across 33 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for a Heart Cath (CPT 93458) runs from about $2,470 in Raleigh, NC to $23,971 in Virginia Beach, VA, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 21 of those metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price. This page explains what the billing code covers, what the quoted price does and does not include, and what actually drives the spread between hospitals. These are price references from public data — not a quote, a bill, or medical or financial advice.
These figures are aggregated from hospitals' public price-transparency files — not a quote, a bill, an insurance benefit determination, or medical advice. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your insurance plan (deductible, copay, coinsurance, network), the exact service and any complications, and which hospital you use. Always confirm price and coverage with the hospital and your insurer before care.
What a Heart Cath price actually covers
A diagnostic cardiac catheterisation threads a catheter through an artery to the heart so contrast can be injected and the coronary arteries imaged directly. It is a procedure performed in a catheterisation laboratory, not an imaging suite.
Code scope. 93458 = left heart catheterization with coronary angiography (the most common diagnostic cath). Right heart cath alone is 93451; combined right+left is 93460. Diagnostic caths are often outpatient; interventional/PCI stays are billed differently.
What is — and isn't — in the price
The hospital's price covers the laboratory, staff and supplies for the diagnostic study. The cardiologist's professional fee is separate, as is anaesthesia or sedation where used. Critically, the published figure is for a DIAGNOSTIC catheterisation only.
Why Heart Cath prices differ so much between hospitals
The single largest driver is whether the diagnostic study becomes an intervention. If a blockage is found and a stent placed in the same session, the billing moves to an interventional code and the total rises substantially — the stent itself is a device charge on top. Radial versus femoral access, and same-day discharge versus overnight observation, also shift the total.
What else usually lands on the bill
Coronary stenting, fractional flow reserve measurement and intravascular ultrasound are all separate interventional codes decided during the procedure. Post-procedure observation and any antiplatelet medication add further charges.
What to ask before you book
Ask what the price covers if the catheterisation stays diagnostic, and what changes if a stent is placed during the same procedure. The two scenarios are priced very differently and the decision is made mid-procedure.
Where the money actually moves
Little is shoppable once the procedure is clinically indicated, and it should not be delayed to compare prices. The useful question is the difference between the diagnostic-only and intervention scenarios, so a stent does not arrive as a financial surprise.
What the Heart Cath numbers show nationally
A Heart Cath costs 9.7× as much in Virginia Beach as in Raleigh
Across the 33 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $2,470 in Raleigh, NC to $23,971 in Virginia Beach, VA — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 870% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Heart Cath prices
Lowest: MERCY CATHOLIC MEDICAL CENTER- MERCY FITZGERALD (Philadelphia, PA) at $332; ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL (Philadelphia, PA) at $469; ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER (Philadelphia, PA) at $516. Highest: CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER (Los Angeles, CA) at $27,131; MEDICAL CITY DALLAS (Dallas, TX) at $26,559; CHILDRENS MEDICAL CTR OF DALLAS (Dallas, TX) at $25,848. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
21 of 33 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay Heart Cath price
Cheapest published cash price: $2,667 (Philadelphia). A cash price is what the hospital will accept from someone paying directly; it is not required and many never publish one.
Insurers pay about 67% below the list price for a Heart Cath
Across the 22 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 67% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Indianapolis: $41,385 list against $2,514 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish a Heart Cath price
213 hospital price-file entries across 33 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 93458 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Heart Cath price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Heart Cath, by metro — lowest first. 21 of these 33 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 22 publish a chargemaster list price. Open a metro for its full hospital-by-hospital breakdown and who those hospitals are.
| Metro | Typical negotiated | Range | Cash | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | $2,470 | $2,470–$4,490 | $5,178 | 3 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $2,514 | $1,598–$3,602 | $10,512 | 4 |
| Detroit, MI | $2,563 | $903–$18,647 | $12,673 | 6 |
| Tampa, FL | $3,572 | $2,693–$3,589 | — | 6 |
| Orlando, FL | $3,589 | $3,555–$6,951 | — | 3 |
| Atlanta, GA | $3,647 | $1,942–$18,390 | $7,356 | 9 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $3,900 | $3,428–$14,370 | $5,723 | 10 |
| Riverside, CA | $3,908 | $950–$11,231 | $12,927 | 5 |
| Sacramento, CA | $4,084 | $4,084 | $19,488 | 3 |
| San Francisco, CA | $4,084 | $4,084–$6,074 | $19,488 | 7 |
| Kansas City, MO | $5,300 | $5,300–$8,766 | — | 6 |
| New York, NY | $5,337 | $5,004–$8,178 | $27,566 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $5,350 | $3,312–$11,457 | $14,274 | 4 |
| Chicago, IL | $5,496 | $5,095–$9,953 | $4,730 | 3 |
| Seattle, WA | $6,645 | $906–$7,812 | $7,039 | 8 |
| Hartford, CT | $6,688 | $3,845–$6,688 | — | 3 |
| Portland, OR | $6,901 | $3,874–$13,148 | — | 7 |
| St. Louis, MO | $7,329 | $4,043–$12,371 | $9,786 | 7 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $7,549 | $332–$12,593 | $2,667 | 14 |
| Nashville, TN | $7,998 | $7,688–$9,839 | — | 9 |
| Washington, DC | $8,304 | $4,335–$13,561 | $9,673 | 5 |
| Birmingham, AL | $8,986 | $2,995–$21,940 | — | 7 |
| Miami, FL | $9,258 | $1,648–$19,151 | — | 4 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $9,347 | $3,908–$27,131 | — | 5 |
| Houston, TX | $10,213 | $8,015–$10,822 | — | 6 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $11,139 | $2,414–$13,367 | $11,072 | 9 |
| Cleveland, OH | $11,706 | $2,982–$11,812 | $12,021 | 8 |
| Denver, CO | $11,827 | $3,133–$16,664 | $13,139 | 10 |
| San Diego, CA | $12,485 | $7,513–$24,097 | $16,573 | 4 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $14,828 | $14,827–$15,191 | — | 3 |
| Austin, TX | $15,596 | $3,366–$18,661 | $11,946 | 9 |
| Dallas, TX | $16,721 | $14,949–$26,559 | $15,526 | 10 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $23,971 | $21,401–$23,971 | — | 6 |
Source: hospitals' own machine-readable Standard Charges files, published under the U.S. Hospital Price Transparency rule (45 CFR §180.50). Most recent hospital file in this dataset: July 2026. Prices are references, not quotes or bills, and never medical or financial advice — where a hospital reports no price, nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Heart Cath cost?
- Across 33 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $6,901, ranging from $2,470 in Raleigh to $23,971 in Virginia Beach. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 93458.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- The hospital's price covers the laboratory, staff and supplies for the diagnostic study. The cardiologist's professional fee is separate, as is anaesthesia or sedation where used. Critically, the published figure is for a DIAGNOSTIC catheterisation only.
- Why do Heart Cath prices differ so much between hospitals?
- The single largest driver is whether the diagnostic study becomes an intervention. If a blockage is found and a stent placed in the same session, the billing moves to an interventional code and the total rises substantially — the stent itself is a device charge on top. Radial versus femoral access, and same-day discharge versus overnight observation, also shift the total.