Pentacel (DTaP-IPV/Hib) cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 5 hospitals list a cash price for DTaP, polio and Hib combination vaccine (Pentacel): from $159.76 to $257.24, with a median of $257.24. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center — $97.48 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $257.24 at 7 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 90698, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center lowest Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 DTAP-IPV COMPONENT 1OF2(PF) 15 LF-48MCG-5 LF-62 DU/0.5ML IM SUSPENSION source file | $159.76 | $355.01 | $68.67–$512.54 | 55% |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HAEMOPHILUS B CONJ-TET,COMPONENT 2 OF 2 (PF) 10 MCG/0.5 ML IM SOLUTION source file | $185.94 | $413.20 | $68.67–$512.54 | 55% |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HAEMOPHILUS B CONJ-TET,COMPONENT 2 OF 2 (PF) 10 MCG/0.5 ML IM SOLUTION source file | $185.94 | $413.20 | $68.67–$475.07 | 55% |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Pbb Dtap-Ipv/Hib Vaccine for Intramuscular Use source file | $257.24 | $367.49 | $0.01–$367.49 | 30% |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Pbb Dtap-Ipv/Hib Vaccine for Intramuscular Use source file | $257.24 | $367.49 | $68.67–$530.75 | 30% |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Pbb Dtap-Ipv/Hib Vaccine for Intramuscular Use source file | $257.24 | $367.49 | $68.67–$367.49 | 30% |
Outpatient: lowest $159.76, median $257.24, highest $257.24 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $257.24. 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 5 of 5 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
Pentacel combines DTaP, polio and Hib vaccines in one shot. It is given at 2, 4 and 6 months and at 15 to 18 months.
What the price covers
The price is for the vaccine dose. Giving the shot is usually a separate line (code 90471 for the first vaccine of the visit, 90472 for each additional one).
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 90698 ($182.15). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MAHC Dtap-Hib-Ipv Vac Im | $0.01 | file |