Sinus surgery, frontal cost in Duluth, MN
In Duluth, MN-WI, 2 hospitals list a cash price for endoscopic sinus surgery: opening the frontal sinus: from $721.23 to $1,674.43, with a median of $1,197.83. The lowest listed price is at Range Regional Health Services — $476.60 less than the median here. Across Minnesota, the median is $1,925.77 at 7 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 31276, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 29, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Duluth, MN-WI.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Regional Health Services lowest Hibbing, MN · (218) 362-6730 PR NASAL SCOPY,EXPLOR FRONTAL SINUS | $721.23 | $1,697.00 | $251.30–$6,778.38 | 57% | Jan 29, 2026 source file |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 NASAL/SINUS NDSC W/RMVL TISS FROM FRONTAL SINUS | $1,674.43 | $3,078.00 | — | 46% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $721.23, median $1,197.83, highest $1,674.43 — a 2.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $1,197.83. 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 the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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 it is
This code covers endoscopic surgery through the nose to open the frontal sinus, above the eyes.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the operating room, recovery and supplies. The surgeon and anesthesia usually bill separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 31276 ($3,446.63). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Range Regional Health Services Hibbing, MNAS NASAL SCOPY,EXPLOR FRONTAL SINUS | $38.25 | file |