Level 1 ER visit cost in El Paso, TX — inpatient
In El Paso, TX, 3 hospitals list a cash price for emergency room visit, level 1 of 5, minor problem that may not need a doctor as an inpatient: from $22.93 to $31.80, with a median of $24.08. The lowest listed price is at University Medical Center Surgical Hospital — $1.15 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $239.79 at 98 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 99281, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . 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 El Paso, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital lowest Dieter El Paso, TX SH EDE LWBS W PX | $22.93 | $114.66 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 EDE ACUITY LEVEL V | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX SH EDE TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 EDE TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX ER TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX EDN ACUITY LEVEL V | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX EDN TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX EDE ACUITY LEVEL V | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX EDE TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 ER TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 EDN TRIAGE ONLY | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 EDN ACUITY LEVEL V | $24.08 | $120.39 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 ACUITY LEVEL V | $25.90 | $129.51 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX ACUITY LEVEL V | $25.90 | $129.51 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 ER VISIT LEVEL 1 W/PX | $31.80 | $159.00 | $10.03–$650.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX SH EDE ACUITY LEVEL I | $71.15 | $355.74 | $10.81–$615.00 | 80% | — source file |
| El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 ER LEVEL 1/99281 LIMIT-MINOR | $105.00 | $525.00 | $10.03–$650.00 | 80% | — source file |
| El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 ER TRIAGE ONLY | $105.00 | $525.00 | $10.03–$650.00 | 80% | — source file |
Inpatient: lowest $22.93, median $24.08, highest $31.80 — a 1.4× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $24.08 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
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 the lowest of five emergency department visit levels, used for a minor problem that needs little care. Since 2023 this level may apply even when no physician or similar clinician needs to see the patient. The level is assigned after the visit: doctors pick it by the complexity of their medical decision making, and hospitals pick the facility level by the care and resources used, so a patient cannot choose it in advance.
What the price covers
The hospital price for this code is the facility fee for the ER visit. The emergency physician bills separately, and lab tests, imaging, medicines and procedures are added on top.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 99281 ($206.40). 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.
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXLND OB TRIAGE 99281 | $18.39 | file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TXLND OB TRIAGE 99281 | $18.39 | file |