ECT cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 16 hospitals list a cash price for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), one session: from $200.00 to $2,822.00, with a median of $1,785.50. The lowest listed price is at Cambridge Health Alliance — $1,585.50 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $1,019.63 at 18 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,785.50, is 66% above the US median of $1,074.00.
- That is 2.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($877.34).
- 10 of 16 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 12 cities for code 90870, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 3, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 13, 2026 and Sep 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Health Alliance lowest Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 Electroconvulsive Therapy,1 Seiz File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $200.00 | $200.00 | $84.58–$1,311.18 | — |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Ect Single Seizure File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $273.00 | $273.00 | $84.58–$1,311.18 | — |
| Boston Medical Center South Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Electroconvulsive Therapy,1 Seiz File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $558.31 | $1,240.69 | $394.86–$1,543.73 | 55% |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Electroconvulsive Therapy 1 Seiz File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $589.84 | $842.63 | $294.92–$1,579.79 | 30% |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Electroconvulsive Therapy,1 Seiz File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $661.28 | $1,469.52 | $475.07–$1,337.90 | 55% |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Electroconvulsive Therapy 1 Seiz File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $824.60 | $1,178.00 | $309.34–$1,429.55 | 30% |
| Emerson Hospital Concord, MA · (978) 369-1400 ECT THERAPY File of May 18, 2026 · source file | $941.25 | $1,255.00 | $447.31–$1,148.33 | 25% |
| Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 HC ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,219.00 | $1,219.00 | — | — |
| Frisbie Memorial Hospital Rochester, NH · (603) 332-5211 Electroconvulsive therapy (includes necessary monitoring) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,774.00 | $1,774.00 | $146.18–$1,069.72 | — |
| New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 HC ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,797.00 | $1,797.00 | — | — |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Electroconvulsive Therapy 1 Seiz File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,160.90 | $3,087.00 | $630.95–$3,087.00 | 30% |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 HC ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,252.00 | $2,252.00 | — | — |
| Plaistow Fser Plaistow, NH · (603) 421-2100 Electroconvulsive therapy (includes necessary monitoring) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,595.50 | $2,595.50 | $80.20–$2,465.72 | — |
| Parkland Medical Center Derry, NH · (603) 421-2100 ECT WITH MONITORING+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,595.50 | $2,595.50 | $80.20–$2,465.72 | — |
| Seabrook Emergency Seabrook, NH · (603) 436-5110 Electroconvulsive therapy (includes necessary monitoring) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,822.00 | $2,822.00 | $116.27–$2,680.90 | — |
| Dover Emergency Room Dover, NH · (603) 436-5110 Electroconvulsive therapy (includes necessary monitoring) +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,822.00 | $2,822.00 | $116.27–$2,680.90 | — |
| Portsmouth Regional Hospital Portsmouth, NH · (603) 436-5110 ECT WITH MONITORING+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $2,822.00 | $2,822.00 | $116.27–$2,680.90 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $200.00, median $1,785.50, highest $2,822.00 — a 14.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $882.93. 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 7 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 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 ECT is, what the price covers and why prices differ: ECT explained.