Upper GI series (barium) cost in Philadelphia, PA

Prices at 13 hospitals in Philadelphia, PA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $881 — 55% above the US median ($568), roughly 6.9× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PA $179 $188 ★ 2/5 182 min 15.5%
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, PA $207 $169 ★ 3/5 253 min 16.2%
Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital Philadelphia, PA $209 $191 ★ 3/5 269 min 15.4%
Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA $356 $340 ★ 2/5 216 min 14.5%
St Christopher's Hospital for Children Philadelphia, PA $780 $205
Shriners Hospitals for Children-Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA $881 $112
Hospital of Univ of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA $1,316 $434 ★ 5/5 280 min 14.4%
Pennsylvania Hospital Philadelphia, PA $1,458 $537 ★ 4/5 272 min 15.8%
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Philadelphia, PA $2,566 $804 ★ 4/5 316 min 15.2%
Philadelphia VA Medical Center Philadelphia, PA $3,258 $1,411 ★ 5/5 14.5%
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA $3,258 $1,411

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)
$1,509
Cash / self-pay
$881
Insurer-negotiated
$205
Medicare pays
$128
$207$3,258
Median cash $881  ·  Medicare $128  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $881 — about 6.9× the Medicare rate ($128). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($257).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,509 list price could save about $628 (42%).

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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.

Doctors who perform this in Philadelphia

Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.

ClinicianSpecialtyLocationMedicare services
Seth Glick, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA36
Seth Glick, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA28
Stephen Karasick, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA14

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All Upper GI series (barium) prices in Pennsylvania → · All Upper GI series (barium) prices (national) · All hospitals in Philadelphia