Level 5 ER visit cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 13 hospitals list a cash price for emergency room visit, level 5 of 5, high-complexity problem: from $888.60 to $4,453.20, with a median of $1,798.20. The lowest listed price is at UPMC Jameson — $909.60 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $1,324.80 at 59 hospitals.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 8 cities for code 99285, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Apr 14, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Jameson lowest New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $888.60 | $1,481.00 | $65.01–$1,733.00 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $1,151.40 | $1,919.00 | $152.61–$1,631.15 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $1,371.00 | $2,285.00 | $152.61–$1,828.00 | 40% | — source file |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT FOR LIFE THREATENING OR FUNCTIONING SEVERITY | $1,547.00 | $3,094.00 | $152.61–$3,845.00 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $1,615.20 | $2,692.00 | $152.61–$2,476.64 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 692-5325 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $1,702.80 | $2,838.00 | $149.34–$2,554.20 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 EMERGENCY DEPT VISIT HI MDM | $1,732.50 | $3,465.00 | $152.61–$3,845.00 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $1,798.20 | $2,997.00 | $152.61–$2,547.45 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $2,410.20 | $4,017.00 | $152.61–$3,615.30 | 40% | — source file |
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PA · (412) 295-3319 HC ED VISIT LEVEL 5 | $2,586.30 | $3,495.00 | $80.00–$2,062.70 | 26% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $3,118.80 | $5,198.00 | $152.61–$4,418.30 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 ACUITY LEVEL 5 | $3,631.80 | $6,053.00 | $152.61–$5,145.05 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 ER EXTENSIVE TREATMENT | $4,453.20 | $7,422.00 | $2,501.21–$5,789.16 | 40% | — source file |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 EMERGENCY ROOM LEVEL 5 | $4,453.20 | $7,422.00 | $1,996.52–$9,095.66 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $888.60, median $1,798.20, highest $4,453.20 — a 5.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $2,104.20. 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 12 of 13 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 highest of five emergency department visit levels, used for a serious problem that needs complex evaluation and treatment, often with a hospital admission or transfer. 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 99285 ($1,499.40). 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.
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PAPR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT HIGH MDM | $128.18 | file |