Eye exam, new patient cost in Buffalo, NY
In Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, 2 hospitals list a cash price for comprehensive eye exam by an eye doctor, new patient: from $137.47 to $453.01, with a median of $295.24. The lowest listed price is at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center — $157.77 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $230.00 at 37 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 92004, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Aug 25, 2026 and Aug 25, 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center lowest Niagara Falls, NY · (716) 278-4000 COMPRE OPH EXAM NEW PT 1/> | $137.47 | $196.39 | $91.65–$170.34 | 30% | — source file |
| Erie County Medical Center Buffalo, NY · (716) 898-3936 COMPRE OPH EXAM NEW PT 1/> | $453.01 | — | $88.21–$511.22 | — | Aug 25, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $137.47, median $295.24, highest $453.01 — a 3.3× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 2 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.