Nutrition counseling cost in St. Louis, MO
In St. Louis, MO-IL, 14 hospitals list a cash price for nutrition counseling (medical nutrition therapy), first visit, 15 minutes: from $26.60 to $136.71, with a median of $46.05. The lowest listed price is at Carlinville Area Hospital — $19.45 less than the median here. Across Missouri, the median is $40.15 at 60 hospitals.
- The median here, $46.05, is 12% below the US median of $52.20.
- That is 1.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($36.74).
- St. Louis, MO ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Missouri by median, cheapest first.
- 1 of 14 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 14 facilities across 13 cities for code 97802, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 6, 2026 and Jun 10, 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 St. Louis, MO-IL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlinville Area Hospital lowest Carlinville, IL · (217) 854-3141 DIETARY CONSULT PER 15 MINUTES FACILITY File of Mar 21, 2026 · source file | $26.60 | $38.00 | $13.68–$54.29 | 30% |
| Mercy Hospital South Saint Louis, MO · (314) 525-1000 Med Nutrition Therapy Ea 15m File of Jun 10, 2026 · source file | $27.30 | $42.00 | $2.73–$42.00 | 35% |
| St Josephs Hospital Hospital Sisters Third Order of St Francis Breese, IL · (618) 526-4511 HC NUTRITION THRPY EVAL 15 MIN File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $28.80 | $40.00 | $11.20–$88.95 | 28% |
| Community Hospital of Staunton Staunton, IL · (618) 635-2200 MNTINITIAL ASSESSEACH 15 MIN File of Feb 9, 2026 · source file | $30.20 | $60.40 | $17.46–$54.96 | 50% |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MO · (636) 528-8551 Med Nutrition Therapy Ea 15m File of Jun 10, 2026 · source file | $31.85 | $49.00 | $3.19–$49.00 | 35% |
| St Josephs Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis Highland, IL · (618) 651-2600 HC NUTRITION THRPY EVAL 15 MIN File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $38.16 | $53.00 | $14.84–$350.87 | 28% |
| Hshs Holy Family Hospital Greenville, IL · (618) 664-1230 HC NUTRITION THRPY EVAL 15 MIN File of Mar 24, 2026 · source file | $39.60 | $55.00 | $15.40–$88.95 | 28% |
| Anderson Hospital Maryville, IL · (618) 288-5711 MNTINITIAL ASSESSEACH 15 MIN File of Feb 6, 2026 · source file | $52.50 | $105.00 | $28.62–$148.00 | 50% |
| Jersey Community Hospital Jerseyville, IL · (618) 498-6402 Dietitian Duration of Contact -> 15 Minutes+3 more lines at this price File of Mar 10, 2026 · source file | $68.00 | $68.00 | $44.00–$57.80 | — |
| Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MO · (314) 251-6000 Med Nutrition Therapy Ea 15m File of Jun 4, 2026 · source file | $68.90 | $106.00 | $6.89–$106.00 | 35% |
| Carlinville Area Hospital Carlinville, IL · (217) 854-3141 DIETARY CONSULT PER 15 MINUTES File of Mar 21, 2026 · source file | $70.00 | $100.00 | $36.00–$142.86 | 30% |
| Mercy Hospital Washington Washington, MO · (636) 239-8000 Med Nutrition Therapy Ea 15m File of Jun 10, 2026 · source file | $74.10 | $114.00 | $7.41–$102.60 | 35% |
| Mercy Hospital Jefferson Festus, MO · (636) 933-1000 Med Nutrition Therapy Ea 15m File of Jun 10, 2026 · source file | $98.80 | $152.00 | $9.88–$152.00 | 35% |
| Gateway Regional Medical Center Granite City, IL · (618) 798-3000 MNT INITIAL EA 15 MN File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $116.65 | $194.41 | $194.41 | 40% |
| Touchette Regional Hospital Cahokia Heights, IL · (618) 332-3060 Medical nutrition therapy; initial assessment and intervention, individual, face-to-face with the patient, each 15 minutes File of Apr 13, 2026 · source file | $136.71 | $220.50 | $34.35–$210.00 | 38% |
Outpatient: lowest $26.60, median $46.05, highest $136.71 — a 5.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $45.90. 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 13 of 14 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 97802 ($58.18). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Jersey Community Hospital Jerseyville, ILNUTR CHRG, Face to Face | $4.00 | file |