Barium swallow cost in Huntsville, AL
In Huntsville, AL, 2 hospitals list a cash price for barium swallow (esophagus X-ray with contrast): from $238.50 to $340.23, with a median of $289.37. The lowest listed price is at Huntsville Hospital — $50.87 less than the median here. Across Alabama, the median is $347.96 at 12 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 74220, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Jan 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 Huntsville, AL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville Hospital lowest Huntsville, AL · (256) 265-1000 BOOT EQUALIZER SMALL | $238.50 | $238.50 | $107.33–$238.50 | — | — source file |
| Crestwood Medical Center Huntsville, AL · (256) 429-4000 FL-ESOPHAGUS | $340.23 | $1,890.17 | $22.68–$1,606.64 | 82% | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Huntsville Hospital Huntsville, AL · (256) 265-1000 X-RAY XM ESOPHAGUS 1CNTRST | $834.00 | $834.00 | $55.71–$542.10 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $238.50, median $289.37, highest $340.23 — a 1.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $317.72. 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 1 of 2 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
A barium swallow is a live X-ray of the esophagus while you drink barium. It shows narrowing, hernias and problems with how food passes.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the study and the barium. The radiologist's reading may be billed separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 74220 ($425.55). 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.
| Huntsville Hospital Huntsville, ALTHERMOMETER AIRLIFE UNIT DISP | $24.50 | file |