he hospital quoted you $17,500 for a hernia repair. That number is not a price. It's a wall. Behind it are four line items, three of which you can shop independently, and one of which — the facility fee — can be cut by eighty percent by walking across the parking lot to an ambulatory surgery center. Your actual all-in cash price in Austin is $3,100.
The four real costs
Total: $7,100 cash at most ambulatory centers. A handful of Austin ASCs run a bundled cash package at $3,100 — the mesh and surgeon negotiate volume.
The hospital version of the same procedure runs $17,500 because the facility line swings from $3,400 to $14,000 when you move from an ASC to a hospital. The surgeon fee is the same. The anesthesia fee is the same. The mesh is the same.
What the "facility fee" actually pays for
At a hospital, the facility line includes: the OR time, nursing, pre-op holding, a recovery bay, the CT machine down the hall that you didn't use, the ER three floors down, the charity-care pool, and the administrative overhead. At an ASC, it includes: the OR time, nursing, pre-op holding, a recovery bay. That is the whole list.
You are not paying for better care at the hospital. You are paying for the rest of the hospital.
The three numbers to ask for
- The surgeon's professional fee (CPT 49505 or 49560 for inguinal/umbilical).
- The ASC or hospital facility fee, bundled.
- The anesthesia fee, bundled by the group.
If any one of those three parties won't give you a number, you are talking to the wrong party. Walk.
See every Austin clinic's cash price for hernia repair, surgeon-by-surgeon. Three providers run bundled under $3,500.
Browse hernia prices →