Our data & methodology.

We use your ZIP code to find the closest providers and prices. Our progressive bounding box algorithm starts with a 2-mile radius for dense metro areas, expands to 10 miles for suburban areas, and extends to the full search radius for rural locations. This ensures you see relevant nearby options first without missing providers in less-dense areas.

Hospital MRF prices are matched at the ZIP3 level (first 3 digits of your ZIP code), which corresponds to a regional mail distribution area. This provides geographic specificity beyond state-level averages while having enough data density for reliable pricing.

Every price on a result card is one of four kinds, and the card says which. They are not interchangeable, and we never turn one kind into another.

• Facility posted price. The facility's own discounted cash price for that billing code, taken from the price-transparency file the hospital publishes under 45 CFR 180. It is shown exactly as published. We do not round it toward a typical range, cap it, or adjust it. If the file lists more than one cash price for the same code, the card shows the lowest and gives the file's own range, and says so. If a posted amount falls outside the plausibility band for the searched service, we withhold it from the posted-price tier and show the next available estimate instead, rather than quietly reshaping a published number. A published price can still be stale or wrong, so confirm it with the facility before you rely on it.
• Provider-derived estimate. A number computed from that provider's own insurer-negotiated rates for the code, multiplied by a typical self-pay factor. The provider did not publish it as a cash price; the card says to confirm it.
• Area or state average. An average over other hospitals or providers in the ZIP area or the state. Every provider priced from this tier in the same area shows the same figure, because it is not that provider's price. The card names the tier and the number of sources.
• Procedure estimate. A national reference range for the procedure, used only when nothing closer exists. It is a placeholder, and the card labels it as one.

A published cash price is never called verified. When the records we reviewed agree on a single distinct amount, that establishes only that those records agree. It does not establish that the amount covers every part of the service, that you are eligible for it, that it is still available, or that the provider has confirmed it to you or to anyone else. Ask the facility for a written price for your own service before you rely on it.

Estimate tiers stay bounded so outliers do not distort search results. Those safeguards apply to modeled estimates and benchmarks only. They never turn a source amount into a confirmed quote, and passing a plausibility check means only that a published amount can be shown as published.

We no longer apply any per-provider variation to modeled figures. Until September 5, 2026, estimate-tier figures carried a deterministic variation of up to plus or minus 15% tied to the provider's NPI, meant to suggest the spread between providers in an area. That variation was removed because it made an area average look like a provider-specific price. Today, an estimate-tier figure is the area figure, shown once, and the confidence badge tells you it is modeled.

Four dates describe a price and we keep them separate: when the source published it, when we fetched it, when it was last independently verified, and, for a quote you record yourself, when the quote expires. A recently fetched file can still be an old price. Where a date is unknown the card says so rather than showing today's date.

Where sufficient payer data exists, we show the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile of negotiated rates. This gives you the full picture:

If a hospital or provider charges above the 75th percentile, that can be a comparison signal. It is not automatically an error or an unlawful charge. Our tools should pair the benchmark with the user's quote, bill, EOB, and payments before recommending the next action.