Upper GI Endoscopy (EGD): what it covers and what it costs
What does an Upper GI Endoscopy (EGD) cost? Across 35 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for an Upper Endoscopy (CPT 43235) runs from about $247 in Indianapolis, IN to $6,089 in Jacksonville, FL, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 15 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 an Upper Endoscopy price actually covers
An upper GI endoscopy, or EGD, passes a flexible camera through the mouth to examine the oesophagus, stomach and the first part of the small intestine. It is typically a short outpatient procedure performed under sedation.
Code scope. 43235 = diagnostic EGD (esophagus/stomach/duodenum), no biopsy. EGD with biopsy is 43239.
What is — and isn't — in the price
The facility fee covers the procedure room, equipment and recovery time; the gastroenterologist and the anaesthesia provider generally bill separately. Any tissue sampled goes to pathology as a further separate charge.
Why Upper Endoscopy prices differ so much between hospitals
As with colonoscopy, an ambulatory endoscopy centre is usually materially cheaper than a hospital outpatient department. Whether biopsies are taken, and whether a therapeutic step such as dilation is performed, moves the procedure to higher-priced codes decided during the examination.
What else usually lands on the bill
Biopsy, oesophageal dilation and placement of a pH monitoring probe are each separate codes. Where an EGD and a colonoscopy are performed in the same session, both are billed, though facility time is shared.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether the price is the diagnostic examination alone, and what it becomes if biopsies are taken or a dilation is performed in the same session.
Where the money actually moves
Ambulatory endoscopy centres price well below hospital departments for the same examination. Where both an EGD and a colonoscopy are indicated, one combined session shares facility time and usually costs less than two visits.
What the Upper Endoscopy numbers show nationally
A Upper Endoscopy costs 24.6× as much in Jacksonville as in Indianapolis
Across the 35 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $247 in Indianapolis, IN to $6,089 in Jacksonville, FL — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 2364% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Upper Endoscopy prices
Lowest: SHARP CORONADO HOSPITAL AND HLTHCR CTR (San Diego, CA) at $1; HARPER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (Detroit, MI) at $10; SOUTHWEST GENERAL HEALTH CENTER (Cleveland, OH) at $116. Highest: CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER (Los Angeles, CA) at $13,493; NICKLAUS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL (Miami, FL) at $10,363; HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN (Los Angeles, CA) at $7,754. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
15 of 35 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay Upper Endoscopy price
Cheapest published cash price: $459 (Portland). 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 57% below the list price for an Upper Endoscopy
Across the 17 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 57% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Cincinnati: $11,424 list against $893 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish an Upper Endoscopy price
224 hospital price-file entries across 35 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 43235 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Upper Endoscopy price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Upper Endoscopy, by metro — lowest first. 15 of these 35 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis, IN | $247 | $247–$960 | — | 3 |
| Raleigh, NC | $443 | $443–$540 | — | 3 |
| Buffalo, NY | $845 | $165–$1,529 | — | 3 |
| Detroit, MI | $862 | $10–$904 | $703 | 6 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $893 | $884–$899 | $6,855 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $983 | $195–$1,588 | $2,978 | 5 |
| Tampa, FL | $995 | $882–$1,004 | — | 6 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $1,008 | $1,008–$2,640 | — | 10 |
| St. Louis, MO | $1,054 | $891–$1,850 | $1,959 | 7 |
| Riverside, CA | $1,139 | $224–$2,518 | — | 4 |
| Sacramento, CA | $1,190 | $675–$1,190 | $3,707 | 4 |
| San Francisco, CA | $1,190 | $1,190–$1,406 | $3,707 | 7 |
| Hartford, CT | $1,193 | $1,193–$2,035 | — | 3 |
| San Diego, CA | $1,473 | $1–$6,434 | $2,669 | 6 |
| Birmingham, AL | $1,493 | $786–$2,596 | — | 8 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $1,720 | $246–$5,460 | $4,725 | 13 |
| Kansas City, MO | $1,768 | $707–$2,325 | — | 7 |
| Washington, DC | $1,882 | $1,125–$2,603 | $1,484 | 7 |
| Seattle, WA | $1,885 | $817–$2,414 | $1,366 | 7 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $1,894 | $1,003–$3,046 | $1,458 | 9 |
| New York, NY | $1,932 | $1,784–$3,595 | $3,675 | 7 |
| Dallas, TX | $2,172 | $1,408–$3,901 | — | 10 |
| Nashville, TN | $2,303 | $1,142–$2,407 | — | 9 |
| Houston, TX | $2,382 | $2,282–$2,434 | — | 6 |
| Cleveland, OH | $2,451 | $116–$3,053 | $2,803 | 9 |
| Austin, TX | $2,520 | $566–$3,066 | — | 9 |
| San Jose, CA | $2,567 | $1,190–$3,278 | — | 3 |
| Atlanta, GA | $2,679 | $716–$4,370 | — | 9 |
| Miami, FL | $2,953 | $2,340–$10,363 | — | 4 |
| Portland, OR | $3,330 | $1,016–$3,330 | $459 | 7 |
| Denver, CO | $3,420 | $117–$3,604 | $1,425 | 10 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $3,446 | $1,139–$13,493 | — | 5 |
| Chicago, IL | $3,799 | $3,799 | — | 3 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $5,790 | $3,408–$5,790 | — | 6 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $6,089 | $6,061–$6,198 | — | 3 |
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 an Upper Endoscopy cost?
- Across 35 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $1,882, ranging from $247 in Indianapolis to $6,089 in Jacksonville. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 43235.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- The facility fee covers the procedure room, equipment and recovery time; the gastroenterologist and the anaesthesia provider generally bill separately. Any tissue sampled goes to pathology as a further separate charge.
- Why do Upper Endoscopy prices differ so much between hospitals?
- As with colonoscopy, an ambulatory endoscopy centre is usually materially cheaper than a hospital outpatient department. Whether biopsies are taken, and whether a therapeutic step such as dilation is performed, moves the procedure to higher-priced codes decided during the examination.