Barium swallow cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 4 hospitals list a cash price for Barium swallow (esophagus X-ray with contrast): from $108.75 to $202.50, with a median of $173.00. The lowest listed price is at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital — $64.25 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $108.75 at 41 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 74220, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 1, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital lowest Lebanon, TN RADIOLOGIC EXAM ESOPHAGUS SINGLE CONTRAST STUDY | $108.75 | $375.00 | $58.11–$375.00 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN XR ESOPHAGUS | $173.00 | $576.65 | $33.33–$291.55 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN XR ESOPHAGUS | $173.00 | $576.65 | $33.33–$291.55 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN XR ESOPHAGUS | $173.00 | $576.65 | $33.33–$291.55 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN XR ESOPHAGUS | $173.00 | $576.65 | $33.33–$291.55 | 70% | — source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN RADIOLOGIC EXAM ESOPHAGUS SINGLE CONTRAST STUDY | $202.50 | $375.00 | $58.11–$375.00 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN HC XR ESOPHAGUS | $226.49 | $781.00 | $86.00–$624.80 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN HC XR ESOPHAGUS | $421.74 | $781.00 | $85.98–$624.80 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $108.75, median $173.00, highest $202.50 — a 1.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $173.00. 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 4 of 4 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.