Nutrition counseling cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 24 hospitals list a cash price for nutrition counseling (medical nutrition therapy), first visit, 15 minutes: from $54.00 to $430.00, with a median of $100.00. The lowest listed price is at Frisbie Memorial Hospital — $46.00 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $100.00 at 26 hospitals.
- The median here, $100.00, is 92% above the US median of $52.20.
- That is 2.7× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($36.74).
- 15 of 24 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 24 facilities across 18 cities for code 97802, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 3, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frisbie Memorial Hospital lowest Rochester, NH · (603) 332-5211 MNT INIT ASSESS EA 15MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $54.00 | $54.00 | $4.45–$43.20 | — |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Medical Nutrition Assmt&Ivntj Indiv Each 15 Mi File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $54.40 | $120.88 | $28.70–$475.07 | 55% |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 Hosp Medical Nutrition Therapy Individual Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $61.60 | $88.00 | $23.11–$150.14 | 30% |
| Boston Medical Center South Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Medical Nutrition Assmt&Ivntj Indiv Each 15 Mi File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $63.23 | $140.52 | $28.70–$394.86 | 55% |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 Hosp Medical Nutrition Therapy Individual Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $77.00 | $110.00 | $38.50–$530.75 | 30% |
| Plaistow Fser Plaistow, NH · (603) 421-2100 MNT INIT ASSESS EA 15MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $78.75 | $78.75 | $2.43–$74.81 | — |
| Parkland Medical Center Derry, NH · (603) 421-2100 MNT INIT ASSESS EA 15MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $78.75 | $78.75 | $2.43–$74.81 | — |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 Hosp Medical Nutrition Therapy Individual Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $79.80 | $114.00 | $39.90–$530.75 | 30% |
| Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 NUT THERAPY INIT EA 15 MIN File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file | $91.00 | $130.00 | $36.17–$342.00 | 30% |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 Hosp Medical Nutrition Therapy Individual Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $94.50 | $135.00 | $47.25–$135.00 | 30% |
| Emerson Hospital Concord, MA · (978) 369-1400 MNT INITIAL EA 15 MIN File of May 18, 2026 · source file | $98.25 | $131.00 | $34.20–$131.00 | 25% |
| Southcoast Hospitals Group - Tobey Hospital Campus Wareham, MA · (508) 679-3131 HC Med Nutr Ther- 1st- Indiv- Ea 15 Min File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $99.00 | $198.00 | $34.80–$411.86 | 50% |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham Needham, MA · (781) 453-3002 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $99.00 | $99.00 | — | — |
| Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · (781) 729-9000 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $101.00 | $101.00 | — | — |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 Hosp Medical Nutrition Therapy Individual Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $104.30 | $149.00 | $52.15–$149.00 | 30% |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 Hosp Medical Nutrition Therapy Individual Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.00 | $150.00 | $39.39–$150.14 | 30% |
| Seabrook Emergency Seabrook, NH · (603) 436-5110 MNT INIT ASSESS EA 15MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $116.00 | $116.00 | $4.78–$110.20 | — |
| Dover Emergency Room Dover, NH · (603) 436-5110 MNT INIT ASSESS EA 15MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $116.00 | $116.00 | $4.78–$110.20 | — |
| Portsmouth Regional Hospital Portsmouth, NH · (603) 436-5110 MNT INIT ASSESS EA 15MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $116.00 | $116.00 | $4.78–$110.20 | — |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Medical Nutrition Assmt&Ivntj Indiv Each 15 Mi File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $127.80 | $284.00 | $28.70–$512.54 | 55% |
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · (781) 744-5100 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $128.00 | $128.00 | — | — |
| Anna Jaques Hospital Newburyport, MA · (978) 463-1000 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $132.00 | $132.00 | — | — |
| Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $132.00 | $132.00 | — | — |
| Exeter Hospital Exeter, NH · (603) 778-7311 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $139.10 | $139.10 | — | — |
| New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $152.00 | $152.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 HC NUTRITION THERAPY INIT ASSESS EA 15 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $209.00 | $209.00 | — | — |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC New Nutr. Visit 15 Min+1 more line at this price File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $430.00 | $430.00 | $25.60–$430.00 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $54.00, median $100.00, highest $430.00 — a 8.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 18 facilities here, median $114.40. 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 9 of 16 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 nutrition counseling is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Nutrition counseling explained.