CarePrice

Data methodology

How CarePriceGuide calculates hospital prices

This page explains where our price data comes from, how we clean it, and how we calculate the numbers you see on procedure and hospital pages.

1. Data source

U.S. hospitals are required by federal hospital price transparency rules to publish machine-readable files (MRF) that list several types of prices for each service. These files are typically CSV or similar structured formats.

For each Wyoming hospital we:

  • Download the hospital's official standard charge file.
  • Parse the file and map its columns into a consistent internal schema.
  • Store the results in our database in tables like hospitals and hospital_prices.

Note: CarePriceGuide is not a hospital or insurer. We do not create prices; we only surface and summarize what hospitals publish in their own files.

2. Cleaning and basic filters

Hospital price files are messy. To make the data usable, we apply a small set of simple filters before calculating statistics:

  • Zero or negative prices: rows where the cash price is <= 0 are excluded from price statistics.
  • Clearly invalid high values: in many views we ignore cash prices above a very high threshold (for example $50,000) to avoid obvious data entry errors or unusual billing rows.
  • Missing descriptions: rows without any usable description or code are not shown to users.

These filters are intentionally conservative: we want to remove clearly broken rows without over-editing or “fixing” the hospital's own data.

3. How we calculate the prices you see

3.1. Hospital + procedure page (e.g. “MRI knee at Summit Medical Center”)

On a specific hospital's procedure page (for example MRI of the knee at a certain hospital) we show:

  • Standard cash price: the average of all positive cash price rows for that hospital_id + procedure_id combination. If the hospital publishes only one row, this equals the original value.
  • Range fields (where available): minimum and maximum values are derived from the same set of rows for that hospital and procedure.

3.2. Procedure overview page (e.g. “CPT 73721 in Wyoming”)

On a procedure code page (for example CPT 73721) we aggregate data across all participating hospitals:

  • Typical cash price: the median of hospital cash prices for that code. This is a calculated statistic and does not necessarily match any single hospital's original row.
  • Middle 50% (interquartile range): the 25th percentile (Q1) and 75th percentile (Q3) of hospital prices for that code. Half of the hospitals charge within this range.
  • Number of hospitals: the count of distinct hospitals with a positive cash price for that code.
  • Hospital list: for each hospital we show the average of its positive cash prices for that code. Again, if there is only one row, the value matches the original hospital file.

3.3. Search results (“Typical” price in the list)

In the search results list we show a compact summary for each code:

  • Typical price: usually the average or median of positive cash prices across hospitals for that code (depending on the specific query).
  • Range: where shown, based on percentile calculations (25th–75th percentiles).
  • Hospital count: number of distinct hospitals with a positive price for that code.

3.4. Special handling for MRI pricing

MRI prices can vary widely and some hospitals list partial charges (for example, supplies or technical components only). For MRI-related codes we sometimes compute an additional set of reference values:

  • A global MRI median and middle 50% range across all MRI-like procedures in Wyoming.
  • A note when a specific MRI code's “typical” price is much lower than this broader MRI benchmark, warning that some hospitals may only be listing partial charges.

These additional checks are meant to highlight potentially misleadingly low MRI prices, not to override or replace hospital data.

4. Limitations and important notes

  • Estimates, not quotes: all numbers on CarePriceGuide are estimates derived from published hospital files. They are not binding quotes or guarantees of your final bill.
  • Facility fees only: prices usually represent the facility portion of the bill. Doctor fees, anesthesia, radiologist interpretation, and lab work are often billed separately.
  • Hospital changes: hospitals can update their files at any time. We periodically refresh our data, but there may be a lag between hospital updates and our site.
  • Aggregated statistics: “typical” and “median” prices are calculated statistics that summarize many rows. They are intended to help patients compare relative price levels, not to predict any single bill exactly.

Always contact the hospital directly and ask for a written Good Faith Estimate before scheduling care. That is the only way to confirm what you will actually pay.

For more context, see our FAQ or contact us with questions about the data.