Level 5 ER visit cost in Louisville, KY
In Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN, 18 hospitals list a cash price for emergency room visit, level 5 of 5, high-complexity problem: from $340.00 to $2,641.52, with a median of $1,108.80. The lowest listed price is at Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital and 4 other hospitals — $768.80 less than the median here. Across Kentucky, the median is $1,174.80 at 77 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,108.80, is 28% below the US median of $1,531.15.
- That is 1.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($608.43).
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 18 facilities across 9 cities for code 99285, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 9, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Sep 30, 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 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital lowest Louisville, KY HB ER LEVEL - COMPREHENSIVE TREAT+1 more line at this price File of Feb 13, 2026 · source file | $340.00 | $1,700.00 | $280.50–$1,648.00 | 80% |
| Norton Brownsboro Hospital lowest Louisville, KY HB EXPRESS ER LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $340.00 | $1,700.00 | $280.50–$1,648.00 | 80% |
| Norton Children's Hospital lowest Louisville, KY HB EXPRESS ER LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $340.00 | $1,700.00 | $280.50–$1,445.00 | 80% |
| Norton West Louisville Hospital lowest Louisville, KY HB ER LEVEL - COMPREHENSIVE TREAT+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $340.00 | $1,700.00 | $280.50–$1,693.00 | 80% |
| Norton Hospital lowest Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB EXPRESS ER LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $340.00 | $1,700.00 | $280.50–$1,648.00 | 80% |
| Norton Clark Hospital Jeffersonville, IN · (812) 283-2147 HB ER LEVEL 5 File of Jun 3, 2026 · source file | $350.28 | $2,502.00 | $642.27–$2,189.25 | 86% |
| Norton Brownsboro Hospital Louisville, KY HB ER LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $394.40 | $1,972.00 | $325.38–$1,776.77 | 80% |
| Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB KID'S EXPRESS LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 13, 2026 · source file | $394.40 | $1,972.00 | $325.38–$1,776.77 | 80% |
| Norton Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB ER LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $394.40 | $1,972.00 | $325.38–$1,776.77 | 80% |
| Norton West Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY HB KID'S EXPRESS LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $394.40 | $1,972.00 | $325.38–$1,776.77 | 80% |
| Norton Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB KID'S EXPRESS LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $394.40 | $1,972.00 | $325.38–$1,676.20 | 80% |
| University of Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 562-3000 SAFE SERVICES LEVEL 5+2 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $828.48 | $3,452.00 | $579.94–$3,452.00 | 76% |
| Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY EMERGENCY ROOM LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $978.48 | $2,718.00 | $456.62–$2,718.00 | 64% |
| UofL Health -Shelbyville Shelbyville, KY · (502) 647-4000 SAFE SERVICES LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,048.04 | $2,758.00 | $369.30–$2,758.00 | 62% |
| UofL Health - Jewish Hospital and Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 587-4011 SAFE SERVICES LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,169.55 | $2,599.00 | $436.63–$2,599.00 | 55% |
| UofL Health-Louisville – South Hospital Shepherdville, KY EMERGENCY ROOM LEVEL 5+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,169.55 | $2,599.00 | $436.63–$2,599.00 | 55% |
| Harrison County Hospital Corydon, IN · (812) 738-4251 Emergency department visit with high level of medical decision making File of Jul 16, 2026 · source file | $1,376.40 | $2,294.00 | $78.80–$2,386.00 | 40% |
| Our Lady of Peace Louisville, KY EPS LEVEL FIVE File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,460.64 | $2,599.00 | $467.82–$2,599.00 | 44% |
| CHI Saint Joseph Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown, KY · (502) 350-5000 HC ED Level 5+1 more line at this price File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,487.13 | $3,524.00 | $586.75–$2,808.63 | 58% |
| St. Vincent Salem Hospital Salem, IN · (812) 883-5881 ED VISIT LEVEL 5 W/ PROCEDURE+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,492.20 | $2,487.00 | $30.50–$252.81 | 40% |
| Baptist Health Louisville Louisville, KY · (502) 897-8100 Emergency department visit with high level of medical decision making File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $2,641.52 | $3,522.02 | $387.42–$7,044.04 | 25% |
| Baptist Health Floyd New Albany, IN · (812) 944-7701 Emergency department visit with high level of medical decision making File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $2,641.52 | $3,522.02 | $75.80–$5,283.03 | 25% |
| Baptist Health LaGrange La Grange, KY · (502) 222-5388 Emergency department visit with high level of medical decision making File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $2,641.52 | $3,522.02 | $316.98–$7,044.04 | 25% |
Outpatient: lowest $340.00, median $1,108.80, highest $2,641.52 — a 7.8× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 18 facilities here, median $1,108.80. 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 16 of 18 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 level 5 ER visit is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Level 5 ER visit explained.