Eye exam, new patient cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 3 hospitals list a cash price for comprehensive eye exam by an eye doctor, new patient: from $111.30 to $175.05, with a median of $126.00. The lowest listed price is at Tufts Medical Center — $14.70 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $175.05 at 5 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 92004, 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 | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tufts Medical Center lowest Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Ophth Medical Xm&Eval Compre New Pt 1/> Vst | $111.30 | $159.00 | $29.11–$159.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC New Patient Comprehensive Vis | $126.00 | $126.00 | $29.70–$140.92 | — | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Ophth Medical Xm&Eval Compre New Pt 1/> Vst | $175.05 | $389.00 | $25.61–$512.54 | 55% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $111.30, median $126.00, highest $175.05 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $126.00. 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 3 of 3 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
This is a full medical eye exam for a new patient by an ophthalmologist or optometrist. It usually checks vision, eye pressure, eye movement and the inside of the eye, often with dilating drops, and may take more than one visit.
What the price covers
The price covers the exam itself. Refraction, the test that sets a glasses prescription, is billed separately (92015), as are contact lens fitting, eye imaging and glasses.