Cataract surgery cost in Chicago, IL
In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 16 hospitals list a cash price for cataract surgery with lens implant: from $655.03 to $18,066.53, with a median of $5,007.52. The lowest listed price is at Humboldt Park Health — $4,352.49 less than the median here. Across Illinois, the median is $6,472.50 at 17 hospitals.
- The median here, $5,007.52, is 29% above the US median of $3,882.45.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 13 cities for code 66984, 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.
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.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt Park Health lowest Chicago, IL · (773) 292-8200 Removal of cataract with insertion of prosthetic lens File of Sep 29, 2026 · source file | $655.03 | $2,339.40 | $772.00–$2,456.37 | 72% |
| John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital Chicago, IL · (312) 864-6000 PF-CATARACT SURG W/IOL 1 STAGE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $855.40 | $1,222.00 | $754.79–$977.60 | 30% |
| Mercy Medical Center Aurora, IL · (630) 859-2222 Xcapsl ctrc rmvl w/o ecp File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,460.00 | $12,955.00 | $483.74–$12,955.00 | 81% |
| Saint Joseph Medical Center - Joliet Joliet, IL · (815) 725-7133 Xcapsl ctrc rmvl w/o ecp File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,460.00 | $8,639.00 | $483.74–$8,639.00 | 72% |
| Franciscan Health Munster Munster, IN · (219) 922-4200 Xcapsl Ctrc Rmvl Insj Io Lens Prosth W/O Ecp File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $3,598.71 | $16,895.34 | $2,441.70–$10,106.00 | 79% |
| Franciscan Health Crown Point Crown Point, IN · (219) 757-6100 Xcapsl Ctrc Rmvl Insj Io Lens Prosth W/O Ecp File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $3,968.44 | $15,381.54 | $15,381.54 | 74% |
| John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital Chicago, IL · (312) 864-6000 CATARACT SUR W/IOL 1 STAGE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $4,126.50 | $5,895.00 | $679.71–$4,716.00 | 30% |
| Northwest Health - Porter Valparaiso, IN · (219) 983-8300 REMOVE CATARACT/INSERT LENS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $4,829.88 | $17,888.43 | $438.36–$15,026.28 | 73% |
| Franciscan Health Dyer Dyer, IN · (219) 865-2141 Xcapsl Ctrc Rmvl Insj Io Lens Prosth W/O Ecp File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $4,955.76 | $18,354.68 | $2,441.70–$7,776.15 | 73% |
| Jackson Park Hospital Foundation Chicago, IL · (773) 947-7500 CATARACT REMOVAL INSERTION OF LENS File of Dec 26, 2025 · source file | $5,059.27 | $6,324.09 | — | 20% |
| Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital McHenry, IL · (815) 344-5000 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10,710.69 | $15,300.99 | $3,577.00–$9,102.00 | 30% |
| Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital DeKalb, IL · (815) 756-1521 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10,852.99 | $15,504.27 | — | 30% |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago, IL · (312) 926-2000 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10,852.99 | $15,504.27 | $4,026.00–$4,474.00 | 30% |
| Palos Community Hospital Palos Heights, IL · (708) 923-4000 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $11,188.68 | $15,983.83 | $3,577.00–$3,975.00 | 30% |
| Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva, IL · (630) 208-3000 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $13,659.83 | $19,514.04 | $2,325.00–$3,975.00 | 30% |
| Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Lake Forest, IL · (847) 234-5600 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $14,202.99 | $20,289.99 | $3,577.00–$3,975.00 | 30% |
| Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Winfield, IL · (630) 682-1600 HB Extracapsular Catarct Removal W/O Ecp File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $18,066.53 | $25,809.33 | — | 30% |
Outpatient: lowest $655.03, median $5,007.52, highest $18,066.53 — a 27.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $2,957.34. 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 8 of 13 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 cataract surgery is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Cataract surgery explained.