Price Comparison Report

Emergency Room Visit — Critical (Level 5)

Chapel Hill, NC · 4 facilities · CPT 99285 · September 06, 2026

Summary

4 facilities within 25 miles of Chapel Hill publish prices for Emergency Room Visit — Critical (Level 5). Cash prices range from $930 to $1,411 — a 1.5x difference for an identical procedure. The North Carolina average is $2,066.

$930 lowest
$1,411 highest
Best Value

Duke Regional Hospital

Durham, VA · Duke Health · 10.4 mi

$930 Cash price
4/5 CMS rating
71.0% Patient satisfaction

Lowest price among hospitals rated 4 stars or above. Patient satisfaction: 71%. Cash price of $930 is below the statewide average of $2,066.

All facilities ranked by price

1
Duke Regional Hospital 4★ · 10.4 mi · Local government
$930
2
Duke University Hospital 5★ · 10.4 mi · For-profit
$960
3
Unc Hospitals 5★ · 0.0 mi · State government
$1,411
Complete facility data
# Facility Cash Price Gross Charge Markup CMS Stars Patient Rating Ownership
1 Duke Regional Hospital Duke Health Durham, NC · 10.4 mi $930 $3,446 3.7x 4/5 71.0% Local government
2 Duke University Hospital Duke Health Durham, NC · 10.4 mi $960 $3,556 3.7x 5/5 80.0% For-profit
3 Unc Hospitals UNC Health Chapel Hill, NC · 0.0 mi $1,411 $2,351 1.67x 5/5 78.0% State government
4 Duke Health Raleigh Hospital Duke Health Raleigh, NC · 25.0 mi — $2,607 — — —

Insurance negotiated rates by facility

The rates below are what each insurer has contractually agreed to pay this hospital for Emergency Room Visit — Critical (Level 5). Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible status and copay structure.

Duke Regional Hospital

Cash: $930
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Piedmont Health Medicare Advantage $164 -$766
UnitedHealthcare HMO $262 -$669
Blue Cross Blue Shield HPN $338 -$593
AmeriHealth Managed Medicaid $554 -$376
Blue Cross Blue Shield Managed Medicaid $554 -$376
Carolina Complete Health Managed Medicaid $554 -$376
Trillium Managed Medicaid $554 -$376
Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO $577 -$354
Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage/Medicare Advantage HMO/Medicare Advantage PPO $597 -$333
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $597 -$333
Troy Health Medicare Advantage $597 -$333
VOANS Medicare Advantage $597 -$333
Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO $609 -$321
Cigna Medicare Advantage $609 -$321
Liberty Medicare Advantage $609 -$321

13 additional plans not shown.

Duke University Hospital

Cash: $960
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Piedmont Health Medicare Advantage $164 -$796
Blue Cross Blue Shield HPN $338 -$622
UnitedHealthcare HMO $385 -$575
UnitedHealthcare Options $485 -$476
Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO $570 -$390
Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO $590 -$370
Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage/Medicare Advantage HMO/Medicare Advantage PPO $590 -$370
Humana Medicare Advantage $590 -$370
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $590 -$370
Troy Health Medicare Advantage $597 -$363
VOANS Medicare Advantage $597 -$363
Cigna Medicare Advantage $609 -$351
Liberty Medicare Advantage $609 -$351
Alliance Health Managed Medicaid $804 -$156
AmeriHealth Managed Medicaid $804 -$156

14 additional plans not shown.

Unc Hospitals

Cash: $1,411
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Aetna MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
ALIGNMENT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
ALIGNMENT PREFERRED PLUS HMO $598 -$813
Blue Cross Blue Shield MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
Cigna MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
Medicare MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
HEALTH TEAM ADVANTAGE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
Humana MEDICARE ADVANTAGE GOLD PLUS $598 -$813
Humana MEDICARE ADVANTAGE STATE HEALTH PLAN $598 -$813
LIBERTY MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
TRICARE HMO $598 -$813
UnitedHealthcare MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $598 -$813
ALLIANCE MANAGED MEDICAID $724 -$686

19 additional plans not shown.

Before you call

The data in this report is from each hospital's publicly filed prices. Here's how to use it.

Confirm the price

Call the hospital's billing department and ask for a price estimate or Good Faith Estimate for Emergency Room Visit — Critical (Level 5) (CPT 99285). Under federal law, they must provide this. Compare it to the published price in this report.

Ask about cash pay

If you haven't met your deductible, ask for the cash/self-pay rate. At many hospitals, the cash price is lower than the insurance-negotiated rate. You can see this in the insurance table above — some negotiated rates exceed the cash price.

Compare before you schedule

You are not required to use the facility your doctor referred you to. You can request a referral to any in-network facility. The same procedure, same quality — sometimes at a fraction of the price.

Ask about financial help

Most nonprofit hospitals in Virginia offer financial assistance to patients based on household income. This is separate from insurance — even insured patients can qualify. Ask billing for their Financial Assistance Policy.

Financial assistance by facility

Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to have financial assistance programs. Below is what we know about each facility's charitable care.

Facility Status Charity Care Provided How to Apply
Duke Regional Hospital Local government — N/A (for-profit)
Duke University Hospital For-profit — N/A (for-profit)
Unc Hospitals State government — N/A (for-profit)
Duke Health Raleigh Hospital — N/A (for-profit)

What to do next

  1. Identify your top 2-3 facilities based on price, quality rating, and distance. The data in this report shows that lower price does not mean lower quality — check the star ratings.
  2. Call billing before you schedule. Confirm the published price. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate. Ask whether there's a prompt-pay or cash-pay discount beyond the listed rate.
  3. Check your deductible status. If you haven't met your deductible, compare the cash rate to what you'd owe through insurance. In some cases, paying cash is cheaper than using your plan.
  4. Apply for financial assistance if your household income is under $60,000-$125,000 (thresholds vary). Most eligible patients never apply because they don't know the program exists.
  5. Get everything in writing. Before your procedure, get a written price estimate. After, review the bill line by line. Roughly 80% of hospital bills contain errors (Becker's Hospital Review).

Data sources

Hospital prices
Published machine-readable files, required under CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR Part 180)
Quality ratings
CMS Hospital Compare, updated quarterly
Patient satisfaction
HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems)
Financial data
CMS Cost Reports (charity care, revenue) and IRS 990 filings (officer compensation)

This report is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Every price shown is a price a hospital published — not an estimate. Actual out-of-pocket costs depend on your insurance plan, deductible status, and clinical circumstances. Consult your healthcare provider and insurer before making decisions.