How Much Does Epidural Steroid Injection Cost in 2026?With & Without Insurance
Epidural Steroid Injection costs between $258 and $3,084 without insurance. A typical all-in cash-pay visit runs about $957.
An epidural steroid injection costs a median of $957 (interlaminar, CPT 62323) to $1,451 (transforaminal, CPT 64483) in hospital-disclosed cash prices. Insurers pay a median of about $162 for the same codes - one of the widest cash-to-negotiated gaps in our corpus.
Quick Price Summary
Cash-Pay Price Range
$258-$3,084
Typical all-in estimate: $957Covers the full visit. The verified benchmark below prices the primary billing code on its own.
With Insurance
$162-$164
After deductible
Based on published hospital and provider price-transparency disclosures, cash-pay benchmarks, and public fee schedules. Last updated September 2026.
What is Epidural Steroid Injection?
An epidural steroid injection (ESI) places corticosteroid, usually with a local anesthetic, into the epidural space around an irritated spinal nerve root. It is used for sciatica, cervical or lumbar radiculopathy and spinal stenosis, where inflammation around the nerve is producing pain that radiates into an arm or leg. It is a diagnostic as well as a therapeutic procedure: relief after a targeted injection helps confirm which nerve root is responsible. The injection takes about fifteen minutes, is performed with fluoroscopic or CT guidance, and does not require general anesthesia. Relief typically begins within a few days and lasts weeks to several months. This is not the same as a labor epidural, which is continuous anesthesia during childbirth and is billed inside the delivery episode.
What Affects Epidural Steroid Injection Cost?
- Approach: interlaminar lumbar (CPT 62323) has a median disclosed cash price of $957; transforaminal (CPT 64483) $1,451; cervical or thoracic interlaminar (CPT 62321) $895.
- Site of service: this is the single largest variable. An office-based pain practice or ambulatory surgery center prices near the 25th percentile; a hospital outpatient department adds a facility fee that pushes the 75th percentile above $3,000.
- Number of levels: a second level injected in the same session is billed on an add-on code (CPT 64484 for transforaminal) at a reduced rate rather than full price.
- Imaging guidance: fluoroscopy or CT is bundled into codes 62321, 62323, 64483 and 64484. A separate guidance line on the same date is a duplicate charge.
- Sedation: most ESIs need no sedation. If sedation is offered, it adds an anesthesia charge and, at some facilities, a monitored recovery fee.
- Number of injections: a course of up to three per year is common. Each is a separate bill, so price the series, not one visit.
How to Save on Epidural Steroid Injection
Ask where the injection will be performed before you agree to a date. Office or surgery center versus hospital outpatient is worth more than every other saving on this list combined.
Quote the insurer-negotiated median of roughly $162 when you ask for a self-pay rate. The gap between that and a four-figure cash price is the widest leverage on this site.
Ask which CPT code will be billed. Codes 62323 and 64483 already include imaging guidance - a separate fluoroscopy charge on the same date should come off the bill.
Get a written quote covering the physician fee, the facility fee and any sedation. A quote for the procedure code alone is not a quote for your bill.
Price the whole planned course, not the first injection, and agree in advance what result would justify a second one.
If you have not tried physical therapy or a short course of oral anti-inflammatories, ask whether an injection now changes your treatment plan - for many patients it does not.
Real prices from our database
Not an estimate. These figures come from actual disclosed prices for code 62323 (Epidural steroid injection, lumbar/sacral interlaminar, with imaging guidance) in FairVisitHealth's price-transparency corpus.
Typical cash price
$957
Most fall between $258 and $1,183 (25th-75th percentile)
Based on 219 disclosed cash prices
Your negotiation target
$164
Median rate insurers actually pay for the same code
Across 59,397 insurer-negotiated rates - ask providers to match it
Procedure code only; the facility fee is billed separately and is the largest cost variable. The transforaminal approach (CPT 64483) prices higher: median $1,451 cash across 671 disclosed prices, insurer median $162 across 60,113 rates.
Source: FairVisitHealth analysis of 219 hospital-disclosed cash prices and 59,397 insurer-negotiated rates for code 62323, from CMS hospital price-transparency machine-readable files and insurer Transparency-in-Coverage files. Data as of August 2026. Smaller sample - treat as indicative.
These are averages. Get your exact local answer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an epidural steroid injection cost without insurance?
It depends on the approach. An interlaminar lumbar epidural with imaging guidance (CPT 62323) has a median hospital-disclosed cash price of $957, with the middle half between $258 and $1,183 across 219 disclosed prices. A transforaminal injection (CPT 64483), which targets a single nerve root, has a median of $1,451 with the middle half between $833 and $3,084 across 671 prices. Those are the procedure codes; facility fees at a hospital outpatient department are billed on top.
Is this the same as an epidural during labor?
No, and the prices are not comparable. A labor epidural is continuous anesthesia delivered by an anesthesiologist during childbirth and is billed as part of the delivery episode. An epidural steroid injection is a one-time outpatient pain procedure that places corticosteroid near an irritated spinal nerve root to treat sciatica, radiculopathy or spinal stenosis. This page prices the steroid injection.
What do insurers actually pay for an epidural steroid injection?
Insurers pay a median of $164 for CPT 62323 across 59,397 negotiated rates and $162 for CPT 64483 across 60,113 rates in our Transparency-in-Coverage corpus. The gap between that and a $957 to $1,451 cash price is one of the widest on this site, which makes this procedure unusually negotiable: a provider accepting $162 from a commercial payer has very little ground to insist on ten times that from a self-pay patient.
What is the difference between interlaminar, transforaminal and caudal injections?
Interlaminar places the steroid into the epidural space between two vertebrae and spreads it over several levels. Transforaminal threads the needle through the opening where a specific nerve root exits, delivering a higher concentration at one level, and is preferred when a single nerve root is clearly the pain generator. Caudal enters through the sacral hiatus at the base of the spine and is often used after previous back surgery. Transforaminal prices highest of the three in our corpus.
How many injections will I need, and are they billed each time?
Yes, each injection is a separate procedure with its own facility, physician and imaging charges. Practice varies, but a common pattern is up to three injections in a twelve-month period, spaced weeks apart, and continuing only if the first produced meaningful relief. Many insurers cap coverage at three or four per year. Ask what the plan is before the first injection, and price the full series rather than one visit.
Does imaging guidance add to the cost?
Fluoroscopic or CT guidance is bundled into codes 62321, 62323, 64483 and 64484 - they are defined as including imaging, so a separate guidance charge on the same date is a duplicate and worth disputing. The older codes 62322 and 62324 describe the same injections performed WITHOUT imaging, are cheaper, and are generally considered less accurate. Confirm which code your provider intends to bill.
Where is the cheapest place to have an epidural steroid injection?
An office-based pain management practice or an ambulatory surgery center, in that order. A hospital outpatient department adds a facility fee that frequently exceeds the procedure charge itself, which is what pushes the 75th percentile above $3,000. The injection is identical. Ask specifically where the procedure will be performed before you agree to a date, because the site of service is the single largest cost variable.
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Medical Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Pricing information is based on publicly reported data and may not reflect your actual costs.
Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider for medical decisions. Prices shown are estimates for self-pay patients and may vary by provider, location, and individual circumstances.