Screening colonoscopy cost in Boston, MA — inpatient
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 3 hospitals list a cash price for screening colonoscopy for a person at average risk (Medicare code) as an inpatient: from $1,480.50 to $1,942.50, with a median of $1,646.00. The lowest listed price is at Tufts Medical Center — $165.50 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $1,853.03 at 9 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code G0121, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tufts Medical Center lowest Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Scrn Colonoscopy Pt Not Hi Risk | $1,480.50 | $2,115.00 | $277.70–$10,711.57 | 30% | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Colon Ca Scrn Not Hi Rsk Ind | $1,646.00 | $1,646.00 | $851.82–$1,646.00 | — | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Scrn Colonoscopy Pt Not Hi Risk | $1,942.50 | $2,775.00 | $283.66–$2,775.00 | 30% | — source file |
Inpatient: lowest $1,480.50, median $1,646.00, highest $1,942.50 — a 1.3× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $1,646.00 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 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 a routine colonoscopy for someone with no symptoms and no high-risk factors, done to find and prevent colorectal cancer. G0121 is a Medicare screening code; for people at average risk Medicare covers it once every 10 years, or 4 years after a screening sigmoidoscopy.
What the price covers
The facility price usually covers the procedure room and recovery. The gastroenterologist, anesthesia, the bowel-prep medicine and any pathology are usually billed or bought separately.