Critical care (first hour) cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 13 hospitals list a cash price for critical care, first 30 to 74 minutes: from $1,144.00 to $6,120.60, with a median of $2,577.00. The lowest listed price is at Uniontown Hospital — $1,433.00 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $1,845.67 at 58 hospitals.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 8 cities for code 99291, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniontown Hospital lowest Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 CRITICAL CARE; FIRST 30-74 MINUTES | $1,144.00 | $2,288.00 | $162.39–$3,899.00 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $1,153.20 | $1,922.00 | $166.79–$1,768.24 | 40% | — source file |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 CRITICAL CARE FIRST HOUR | $1,281.50 | $2,563.00 | $162.39–$3,899.00 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $1,378.20 | $2,297.00 | $166.79–$2,558.00 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $1,501.80 | $2,503.00 | $166.79–$2,002.40 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $1,918.20 | $3,197.00 | $166.79–$2,717.45 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 692-5325 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $2,015.40 | $3,359.00 | $188.74–$3,023.10 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $2,577.00 | $4,295.00 | $166.79–$3,650.75 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $2,662.80 | $4,438.00 | $166.79–$3,772.30 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $3,476.40 | $5,794.00 | $166.79–$5,214.60 | 40% | — source file |
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PA · (412) 295-3319 HC CRITICAL CARE 1ST 74 MIN | $3,554.22 | $4,803.00 | $159.21–$2,693.13 | 26% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 CRITICAL CARE - FIRST 30-74MIN | $4,768.80 | $7,948.00 | $166.79–$6,755.80 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 CRITICAL CARE 1ST HR | $6,120.60 | $10,201.00 | $3,437.74–$7,956.78 | 40% | — source file |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 ED CRITICAL CARE UP TO 74MIN | $6,120.60 | $10,201.00 | $2,744.07–$12,501.33 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,144.00, median $2,577.00, highest $6,120.60 — a 5.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $2,619.90. 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 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 code bills care for a life-threatening illness or injury for the first 30 to 74 minutes. It appears on emergency department bills after serious cases and in intensive care.
What the price covers
The price is the hospital's charge. Additional half hours use 99292, and the doctor bills separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 99291 ($1,843.35). 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 CRITICAL CARE ILL/INJURED PATIENT INIT 30-74 MIN | $155.74 | file |