Emergency department visit cost in Austin, TX

Prices at 10 hospitals in Austin, TX, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $522 — 10% below the US median ($581), roughly 7.5× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Northwest Hills Surgical Hospital Austin, TX $178 $200 14.4%
Dell Children's Medical Center Austin, TX $438 $435
Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin Austin, TX $522 $234 ★ 3/5 186 min 14.3%
Dell Seton Med Center at the University of Tx Austin, TX $522 $328 ★ 4/5 233 min 14.9%
Ascension Seton Southwest Austin, TX $522 $200 134 min 14.8%
Ascension Seton Northwest Austin, TX $522 $200 ★ 4/5 159 min 14.4%
Texas Childrens Hospital North Austin Campus Austin, TX $1,361 $1,158
North Austin Medical Center Austin, TX $2,202 $1,101 ★ 3/5 156 min 14.4%
St David's Medical Center Austin, TX $2,253 $974 ★ 4/5 161 min 15.0%
St David's South Austin Medical Center Austin, TX $2,253 $1,025 ★ 3/5 149 min 15.2%

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated August 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,450
Cash / self-pay
$522
Insurer-negotiated
$381
Medicare pays
$69
$412$2,253
Median cash $522  ·  Medicare $69  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $522 — about 7.5× the Medicare rate ($69). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($139).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,450 list price could save about $928 (64%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

All Emergency department visit prices in Texas → · All Emergency department visit prices (national) · All hospitals in Austin