Scans and imaging CPT 74240 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Upper GI series cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for upper GI series (X-ray of esophagus, stomach and duodenum with contrast) as an inpatient: from $81.54 to $201.65, with a median of $144.32. The lowest listed price is at St Charles Parish Hospital — $62.78 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $243.57 at 47 hospitals.

Cash prices at 5 facilities across 5 cities for code 74240, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$81.54St Charles Parish Hospital

Median$144.32half of hospitals charge less

Highest$201.65in this market

Difference2.5×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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.

median

Lowest $81.54Highest $201.65

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
St Charles Parish Hospital lowest Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC XRAY, UPPER GI TRACT, W/ SCOUT ABD RADIOGRAPH/IMG, W/SNGL CONTRAST source file	$81.54	$302.00	—	73%
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC XRAY, UPPER GI TRACT, W/ SCOUT ABD RADIOGRAPH/IMG, W/SNGL CONTRAST source file	$129.08	$461.00	—	72%
St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC XRAY, UPPER GI TRACT, W/ SCOUT ABD RADIOGRAPH/IMG, W/SNGL CONTRAST source file	$144.32	$451.00	—	68%
Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC XRAY, UPPER GI TRACT, W/ SCOUT ABD RADIOGRAPH/IMG, W/SNGL CONTRAST source file	$150.04	$682.00	—	78%
The Ochsner West Campus Extended Care Hospital Jefferson, LA HC XRAY, UPPER GI TRACT, W/ SCOUT ABD RADIOGRAPH/IMG, W/SNGL CONTRAST source file	$201.65	$545.00	—	63%

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.

At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More

Inpatient: lowest $81.54, median $144.32, highest $201.65 — a 2.5× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $220.44 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

What it is

An upper GI series is an X-ray of the esophagus, stomach and first part of the small intestine after drinking barium.

What the price covers

The price usually covers the study and the barium. The radiologist's reading may be billed separately.