Lumbar radiofrequency ablation cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 10 hospitals list a cash price for radiofrequency ablation of facet joint nerves, lower back, one level: from $2,244.50 to $14,184.60, with a median of $3,699.00. The lowest listed price is at Uniontown Hospital — $1,454.50 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $3,253.33 at 40 hospitals.
Cash prices at 10 facilities across 6 cities for code 64635, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 25, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Apr 14, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniontown Hospital lowest Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 DESTROY LUMB/SAC FACET JNT | $2,244.50 | $4,489.00 | $171.55–$4,409.97 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 DEST LUMB/SAC FACET JNT W IMG | $2,267.40 | $3,779.00 | $618.25–$4,602.81 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 DEST LUMB/SAC FACET JNT W IMG | $2,615.40 | $4,359.00 | $618.25–$3,738.24 | 40% | — source file |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 DESTRUCTION OF LOWER OR SACRAL SPINAL FACET JOINT NERVES USING IMAGING GUIDANCE; SINGLE FACET JOINT | $2,931.50 | $5,863.00 | $171.55–$4,409.97 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 DST FCT JT LM/SA 1ST W IMG UNI | $3,012.60 | $5,021.00 | $618.25–$4,602.81 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 DST FCT JT LM/SA 1ST W IMG UNI | $3,205.20 | $5,342.00 | $618.25–$4,602.81 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC DES LUM/SAC FACET JNT W IMG | $4,192.80 | $6,988.00 | $618.25–$5,939.80 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 DST FCT JT LM/SA 1ST W IMG UNI | $4,494.60 | $7,491.00 | $626.83–$6,367.35 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 DEST LUMB/SAC FACET JNT W IMG | $4,494.60 | $7,491.00 | $626.83–$6,367.35 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 HC DEST PARAVER FACT NRV LUMB/SAC SNGL | $5,702.03 | $7,811.00 | $199.77–$6,591.80 | 27% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 DEST LUMB/SAC FACET JNT W IMG | $7,348.20 | $12,247.00 | $620.91–$11,022.30 | 40% | — source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 DESTRUC LUMBAR SACRAL SINGLE FACET JOINT | $14,184.60 | $23,641.00 | $7,967.02–$18,439.98 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $2,244.50, median $3,699.00, highest $14,184.60 — a 6.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 9 facilities here, median $4,192.80. 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 10 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 it is
Radiofrequency ablation uses heat to disable the small nerves that carry pain from lower back facet joints, using imaging to guide the needle.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the injection and imaging guidance. The steroid or other medicine may be billed separately.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 64635 ($2,685.07). 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.
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PAPR DSTR NROLYTC AGNT PARVERTEB FCT SNGL LMBR/SACRAL | $102.41 | file |
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PAPR DSTR NROLYTC AGNT PARVERTEB FCT SNGL LMBR/SACRAL | $140.14 | file |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PAPR DSTR NROLYTC AGNT PARVERTEB FCT SNGL LMBR/SACRAL | $145.53 | file |