Surgery and procedures CPT 11981 Outpatient

Birth control implant insertion cost in Washington, DC

In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 11 hospitals list a cash price for insertion of a drug-delivery implant, such as the arm birth control implant: from $127.50 to $919.00, with a median of $564.50. The lowest listed price is at Jefferson Medical Center — $437.00 less than the median here. Across District of Columbia, the median is $170.85 at 2 hospitals.

The median here, $564.50, is 108% above the US median of $271.23.
That is 4.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($135.93).
Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.

Cash prices at 11 facilities across 9 cities for code 11981, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 30, 2024 and Jul 12, 2026.

Lowest$127.50Jefferson Medical Center

Median$564.50half of hospitals charge less

Highest$919.00in this market

Difference7.2×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.

median

Lowest $127.50Highest $1,057.00

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Jefferson Medical Center lowest Ranson, WV · (304) 728-1600 INSERTION DRUG DLVR IMPLANT File of Jul 12, 2026 · source file	$127.50	$255.00	—	50%
Children's National Hospital Washington, DC · (202) 476-5000 11981 Nexplanon insertion File of Apr 2, 2026 · source file	$161.50	$323.00	$111.69–$2,442.00	50%
MedStar Washington Hospital Center Washington, DC · (202) 877-7000 INSERT DRUG DELIVERY IMPLANT+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$180.19	$277.21	$80.39–$3,175.00	35%
Stafford Hospital Stafford, VA · (540) 741-9000 Insertion drug dlvr implant File of Dec 30, 2024 · source file	$195.00	$390.00	$122.00–$4,450.00	50%
Mary Washington Hospital Fredericksburg, VA · (540) 741-1100 Insertion drug dlvr implant File of Dec 30, 2024 · source file	$195.00	$390.00	$122.00–$4,450.00	50%
Inova Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, VA · (703) 698-1110 HC INSERT DRUG DELIVERY IMPLANT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$564.50	$1,129.00	$128.90–$2,561.00	50%
Inova Loudoun Hospital Leesburg, VA · (703) 858-6600 HC INSERT DRUG DELIVERY IMPLANT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$564.50	$1,129.00	$128.90–$2,561.00	50%
Inova Alexandria Hospital Alexandria, VA · (703) 504-3167 HC INSERT DRUG DELIVERY IMPLANT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$564.50	$1,129.00	$128.90–$2,561.00	50%
Inova Mount Vernon Hospital Alexandria, VA · (703) 664-7105 HC INSERT DRUG DELIVERY IMPLANT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$564.50	$1,129.00	$128.90–$2,561.00	50%
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Fairfax, VA · (703) 391-4170 HC INSERT DRUG DELIVERY IMPLANT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$564.50	$1,129.00	$128.90–$2,561.00	50%
Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center Woodbridge, VA · (703) 523-1000 Insertion Drug Delivery Implant File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$919.00	$1,838.00	—	50%
Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center Woodbridge, VA · (703) 523-1000 11981 Insert Drug Implant+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$1,057.00	$2,114.00	—	50%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More

Check the item The description in the hospital file looks like a supply or device (a catheter, a brace, an implant), not this procedure. The hospital may have filed it under the wrong code: ask before relying on this price.

Outpatient: lowest $127.50, median $564.50, highest $919.00 — a 7.2× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $564.50. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

Cash or insurance?

At 9 of 9 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.

What birth control implant insertion is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Birth control implant insertion explained.