Level 1 ER visit cost in McAllen, TX
In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, 1 hospital lists a cash price for emergency room visit, level 1 of 5, minor problem that may not need a doctor: from $79.90 to $79.90, with a median of $79.90. Across Texas, the median is $239.79 at 98 hospitals.
Cash prices at 1 facility for code 99281, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 6, 2025 and Oct 6, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driscoll Children’s Hospital lowest Edinburg, TX · (361) 694-5041 ED Level 1 | $79.90 | $399.50 | $51.36–$500.00 | 80% | Oct 6, 2025 source file |
| Driscoll Children’s Hospital Edinburg, TX · (361) 694-5041 ER Level 1 | $95.88 | $479.40 | $51.36–$500.00 | 80% | Oct 6, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $79.90, median $79.90, highest $79.90.
Cash or insurance?
At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is 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.
| Driscoll Children’s Hospital Edinburg, TXED Level Triage | $18.36 | file |