Surgery and procedures CPT 44970 Outpatient

Appendectomy cost in Chicago, IL

In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 18 hospitals list a cash price for laparoscopic appendectomy (appendix removal through small cuts): from $616.81 to $36,730.77, with a median of $12,851.55. The lowest listed price is at Humboldt Park Health — $12,234.74 less than the median here. Across Illinois, the median is $6,446.00 at 23 hospitals.

  • The median here, $12,851.55, is 66% above the US median of $7,737.00.
  • Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.

Cash prices at 18 facilities across 15 cities for code 44970, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 26, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 26, 2025 and Sep 29, 2026.

Lowest$616.81Humboldt Park Health
Median$12,851.55half of hospitals charge less
Highest$36,730.77in this market
Difference59.5×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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.

median
Lowest $616.81Highest $36,730.77

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Humboldt Park Health lowest Chicago, IL · (773) 292-8200 Removal of appendix using an endoscope File of Sep 29, 2026 · source file $616.81 $2,202.90 $726.96–$2,313.05 72%
John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital Chicago, IL · (312) 864-6000 PF-LAPAROSCOPY APPENDECTOMY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $1,197.70 $1,711.00 $612.35–$1,368.80 30%
Saint Francis Hospital Evanston, IL · (847) 316-4000 Laparoscopy appendectomy File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $6,446.00 $15,982.00 $684.22–$14,253.76 60%
Saint Joseph Medical Center - Joliet Joliet, IL · (815) 725-7133 Laparoscopy appendectomy File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $6,446.00 $11,574.00 $646.85–$11,574.00 44%
Mercy Medical Center Aurora, IL · (630) 859-2222 Laparoscopy appendectomy File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $6,446.00 $26,077.00 $646.85–$26,077.00 75%
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago, IL · (312) 926-2000 HB Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $9,069.20 $12,956.00 $3,031.70–$7,125.80 30%
Franciscan Health Crown Point Crown Point, IN · (219) 757-6100 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $9,807.49 $38,013.52 $38,013.52 74%
Franciscan Health Munster Munster, IN · (219) 922-4200 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $10,775.01 $50,586.88 $1,905.42–$26,225.00 79%
Jackson Park Hospital Foundation Chicago, IL · (773) 947-7500 LAPAROSCOPIC APPENDECTOMY File of Dec 26, 2025 · source file $11,745.04 $14,681.30 — 20%
Franciscan Health Dyer Dyer, IN · (219) 865-2141 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $13,958.06 $51,696.51 $1,905.42–$20,370.23 73%
Franciscan Health Rensselaer Rensselaer, IN · (219) 866-5141 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $14,284.58 $39,901.07 $1,905.42–$26,225.00 64%
Northwest Health - Porter Valparaiso, IN · (219) 983-8300 LAPAROSCOPY, APPENDECTOMY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $25,751.98 $95,377.72 $523.36–$80,117.28 73%
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital McHenry, IL · (815) 344-5000 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $26,964.85 $38,521.21 $7,055.00–$7,839.00 30%
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago, IL · (312) 926-2000 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $30,072.48 $42,960.69 $425.00–$8,823.00 30%
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Lake Forest, IL · (847) 234-5600 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $30,072.48 $42,960.69 $7,055.00–$7,839.00 30%
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Winfield, IL · (630) 682-1600 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $30,573.64 $43,676.63 — 30%
Palos Community Hospital Palos Heights, IL · (708) 923-4000 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $31,985.58 $45,693.69 $7,055.00–$7,839.00 30%
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva, IL · (630) 208-3000 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $34,314.01 $49,020.01 $700.00–$7,839.00 30%
Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital DeKalb, IL · (815) 756-1521 Laparoscopic Appendectomy File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $36,730.77 $52,472.53 — 30%
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.

Outpatient: lowest $616.81, median $12,851.55, highest $36,730.77 — a 59.5× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $6,471.37. 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 10 of 15 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 2 it is 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 appendectomy is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Appendectomy explained.

1 row held back from this comparison

It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 44970 ($3,687.20). 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.

HospitalCash priceFile
Morris Hospital Morris, ILRemoval of appendix using an endoscope $298.83 file
File Link to the hospital's own price file.