Eye exam (follow-up) cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 3 hospitals list a cash price for eye exam, returning patient, intermediate: from $80.00 to $153.90, with a median of $98.00. The lowest listed price is at Cambridge Health Alliance — $18.00 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $153.90 at 5 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 92012, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Health Alliance lowest Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Opthalmological Established Pt Intermediate | $80.00 | $80.00 | $29.70–$140.92 | — | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Ophth Medical Xm&Eval Intermediate Estab Pt | $98.00 | $140.00 | $24.83–$140.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Ophth Medical Xm&Eval Intermediate Estab Pt | $153.90 | $342.00 | $21.85–$512.54 | 55% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $80.00, median $98.00, highest $153.90 — a 1.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $98.00. 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
An intermediate eye exam checks a specific problem or follows up a known condition.
What the price covers
The price covers the exam. Refraction for glasses (92015) is often billed separately.