Scans and imaging CPT 74220 Maryland Outpatient

Barium swallow cost in Maryland

In Maryland, 15 hospitals publish a cash price for barium swallow (esophagus X-ray with contrast): from $261.33 to $872.67, with a median of $573.68. The lowest price is at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (Towson). The highest price is 3.3× the lowest.

The median here, $573.68, is 28% above the US median of $447.60.
That is 3.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($179.20).
Maryland ranks 39th of 50 states by median, cheapest first.
2 of 15 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.

Why Maryland prices look low: Maryland is the only state where a commission (the HSCRC) sets hospital rates for every payer, so its hospitals publish prices far below the rest of the country. A separate physician fee may still apply.

Maryland law (Health-General §19-214.1) requires hospitals to give free medically necessary care to patients with family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and to cut the bill by 75% up to 250% and 60% up to 300%. With medical debt above 25% of family income in a year, discounts reach up to 500%. Immigration status does not count. Ask the hospital for its financial assistance application. Other states' laws.

Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 74220. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Oct 29, 2026. See them on a map

Lowest$261.33Greater Baltimore Medical Center

Median$573.68half of hospitals charge less

Highest$872.67in Maryland

Lowest saves$312.35vs the median

Hospitals in Maryland, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	File date
Greater Baltimore Medical Center lowest Towson · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC Esophogus-Foreign Body	$261.33	$266.66	Jul 1, 2026 source file
UPMC Western Maryland Cumberland · Cumberland, MD-WV XR ESOPHAGUS	$321.60	$536.00	Mar 2, 2026 source file
Frederick Health Hospital Frederick · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV X-RAY ESOPHAGRAM	$349.75	$356.89	Mar 17, 2025 source file
MedStar St. Mary's Hospital Leonardtown · Lexington Park, MD BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$379.86	$387.61	Apr 1, 2026 source file
Union Hospital of Cecil County Elkton · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD XRAY,ESOPHAGUS GLR	$415.83	$415.83	Apr 1, 2026 source file
Mercy Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC ESOPHAGRAM - DOUBLE CONTRAST	$442.04	$451.06	Jan 1, 2026 source file
TidalHealth Peninsula Salisbury · Salisbury, MD HC ESOPHAGUS SINGLE CONTRAST INC. SCOUT CHEST/DELAYED IMAGES	$541.65	$552.70	Mar 19, 2026 source file
MedStar Southern Hospital Center Clinton · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$573.68	$585.39	Apr 1, 2026 source file
MedStar Harbor Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$575.83	$587.58	Apr 1, 2026 source file
Atlantic General Hospital Berlin · Ocean Pines, MD Radiologic examination, esophagus, including scout chest radiograph(s) and delayed image(s), when performed; single-contrast (eg, barium) study	$613.84	$613.84	Apr 10, 2026 source file
MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$655.38	$668.76	Apr 1, 2026 source file
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$671.28	$684.98	Apr 1, 2026 source file
Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ESOPHAGRAM FLUOROSCOPY	$737.00	$752.04	Nov 5, 2025 source file
MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Olney · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$819.73	$836.46	Apr 1, 2026 source file
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BARIUM ESOPH W/ SCT CHEST	$872.67	$890.48	Apr 1, 2026 source file

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

File date When the hospital last updated its price file, as the file says itself. A dash means the file gives no date.

No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

By metro area

Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.

Metro area	Hospitals	Lowest	Median
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	7	$261.33	$655.38
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	3	$349.75	$573.68
Cumberland, MD-WV	1	$321.60	$321.60
Lexington Park, MD	1	$379.86	$379.86
Ocean Pines, MD	1	$613.84	$613.84
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1	$415.83	$415.83
Salisbury, MD	1	$541.65	$541.65

Market A metro area (as the Census Bureau defines it) or, outside metro areas, a town. Each links to every hospital price there.

Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.

Lowest The lowest cash price among those hospitals.

Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More

What barium swallow is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Barium swallow explained.

Barium swallow (esophagus X-ray with contrast) in other states

Median cash price across the state's hospitals.