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Colonoscopy Cost Without Insurance: 2026

4 days ago
7 min read

We tracked 268 posted self-pay colonoscopy prices, read in November 2026: 216 city prices from the ColonoscopyAssist bundled-price program, 48 hospital and surgery center listings on the MDsave marketplace, and 4 practices' own price pages, and compared them with 2026 Medicare rates. The result shows what a colonoscopy costs without insurance as of the fourth quarter of 2026, by provider type, state, and add-on fee.

Key Findings

  • Hospital listings on MDsave had a median self-pay colonoscopy price of $2,592 in November 2026, across 36 hospitals in 16 states.

  • ColonoscopyAssist's bundled cash price had a median of $1,395 across 216 US cities in November 2026, and 72% of those cities were priced at $1,500 or less.

  • Minnesota had the highest median bundled colonoscopy price of 20 states with four or more listed cities, $2,100, against $1,225 in Virginia, in November 2026.

  • Medicare's 2026 national payment for a diagnostic colonoscopy in a hospital outpatient department, facility and physician combined, is $1,115.59. The median hospital cash price is 2.3 times that amount.

  • Practices that bill add-ons separately posted $400 for MAC anesthesia and $65 to $100 per pathology specimen in 2026.

In May 2021, the US Preventive Services Task Force lowered the age to start colorectal cancer screening to 45, adding adults 45 to 49 to its long-standing recommendation for people 50 to 75. For someone without insurance, that colonoscopy is a cash purchase, and the posted price ranges from under $1,000 to more than $4,000 depending on where it is booked.

Our analysts collected posted cash prices from a national bundled-price program, a price marketplace that lists hospitals and surgery centers, and gastroenterology practices that publish self-pay rates, then grouped them by provider type and state. We kept prices that cover the procedure itself, including the physician and facility, and recorded separately listed add-ons such as anesthesia and pathology. We then compared the results with Medicare's 2026 national payment rates for three standard colonoscopy codes.

In the following sections, we compare colonoscopy cash prices by provider type, bundled prices by state, cash prices against 2026 Medicare rates, and the add-on fees that unbundled practices charge.

Hospital Colonoscopy Prices Run Highest Without Insurance

Where the procedure happens shapes the price. Hospitals, surgery centers, and independent gastroenterology practices all sell colonoscopies to patients paying cash, and some list on the same marketplace.

Self-Pay Colonoscopy Prices by Provider Type (November 2026)

Provider type and source

Prices

Median

Middle 50%

Lowest

Highest

Hospital listings (MDsave)

36

$2,592

$2,423 to $2,905

$1,908

$4,142

Surgery center and GI practice listings (MDsave)

12

$2,129

$1,759 to $2,473

$1,243

$3,135

Bundled cash program, by city (ColonoscopyAssist)

216

$1,395

$1,325 to $1,555

$1,075

$2,888

Practices' own price pages

4

$1,000

$994 to $1,234

$975

$1,936

Range chart of self-pay colonoscopy prices by provider type, with a hospital median of $2,592 and a bundled program median of $1,395

Key Findings

  • The hospital median sits $464 above the $2,129 median for surgery centers and GI practices on the same marketplace. The highest hospital listing, $4,142 at Physicians Regional Healthcare System in Naples, Florida, covers the facility, physician, anesthesiologist, and pathology fees.

  • The bundled program's median, $1,395, is $1,197 below the hospital median. Its prices sit close together, with the middle half of its 216 cities between $1,325 and $1,555.

  • For an uninsured patient, booking through a bundled program can cut more than $1,000 from the median hospital price for the same procedure, and a surgery center or GI practice can cut several hundred dollars. The hospital listings span 16 states, and none of the pages carry a date, so a posted price is best confirmed before booking.

Colonoscopy Cash Prices by State

The bundled program posts a separate price for each city it serves, which makes state comparisons possible. The table covers the 20 states where it lists four or more cities.

Bundled Colonoscopy Self-Pay Price by State (November 2026)

State

Cities listed

Median

Lowest city

Highest city

Minnesota

5

$2,100

$2,000

$2,100

Washington

9

$1,795

$1,375

$1,795

Iowa

4

$1,775

$1,150

$2,500

Ohio

8

$1,495

$1,275

$1,775

Alabama

6

$1,485

$1,370

$1,875

Idaho

4

$1,475

$1,275

$1,975

Colorado

7

$1,475

$1,300

$1,675

Georgia

4

$1,438

$1,375

$1,575

Missouri

6

$1,425

$1,275

$2,495

Florida

18

$1,410

$1,275

$1,950

Illinois

11

$1,395

$1,195

$2,275

California

21

$1,395

$1,170

$1,675

Pennsylvania

13

$1,395

$1,270

$1,775

South Carolina

8

$1,375

$1,275

$2,195

Texas

21

$1,375

$1,150

$2,395

Michigan

9

$1,375

$1,250

$1,495

Arizona

7

$1,350

$1,295

$1,475

Mississippi

4

$1,350

$1,150

$1,750

New York

6

$1,285

$1,175

$1,775

Virginia

4

$1,225

$1,075

$1,575

Bar chart of median bundled colonoscopy self-pay price by state, from $2,100 in Minnesota to $1,225 in Virginia

Key Findings

  • All five listed Minnesota cities are priced at $2,000 to $2,100. In Virginia, Chester and Richmond are listed at $1,075, the lowest city prices in the program.

  • Washington and Iowa follow Minnesota at $1,795 and $1,775. Fifteen of the 20 states have medians between $1,350 and $1,495.

  • Prices can vary as much within a state as between states. In Texas, the program lists Houston at $1,150 and Mansfield at $2,395, a gap of $1,245, larger than the $875 gap between the Minnesota and Virginia medians.

Colonoscopy Cash Prices Compared With 2026 Medicare Rates

Medicare's national rates give a public benchmark for the procedure. Medicare pays the facility and the physician separately, so the totals below add the two.

Medicare National Payment for Colonoscopy by CPT Code (2026)

Procedure (CPT code)

Surgery center facility

Hospital outpatient facility

Physician fee

Total in surgery center

Total in hospital

Diagnostic colonoscopy (45378)

$510.49

$950.10

$165.49

$675.98

$1,115.59

With biopsy (45380)

$656.75

$1,222.56

$178.58

$835.33

$1,401.14

With snare polyp removal (45385)

$656.75

$1,222.56

$224.57

$881.32

$1,447.13

Bar chart comparing 2026 Medicare totals for diagnostic colonoscopy with median cash prices, from $675.98 in a surgery center to a $2,592 hospital cash median

Key Findings

  • For a diagnostic colonoscopy, Medicare's 2026 total is $675.98 in a surgery center. Adding a biopsy raises the totals to $835.33 in a surgery center and $1,401.14 in a hospital.

  • The median surgery center and GI practice cash price is 3.1 times Medicare's surgery center total. Most of the cash bundles also include anesthesia and pathology, which the Medicare totals leave out.

  • Medicare rates apply to Medicare patients, but they show how far cash prices sit above the base payment for the procedure. Medicare pays a surgery center about 54% of the hospital facility rate for a diagnostic colonoscopy, the same direction as the cash price gap between the two settings.

Anesthesia, Pathology, and Visit Fees on an Unbundled Colonoscopy

Some practices quote a lower base price and bill other services separately. The fees below are the add-ons these practices and programs post.

Posted Colonoscopy Add-On Fees (2026)

Add-on

Posted price

Provider

Location

MAC anesthesia (deeper sedation)

$400 per procedure

Midwest Digestive Center

Willowbrook, IL

Pathology

$100 per specimen

Midwest Digestive Center

Willowbrook, IL

Pathology

$65 per specimen

Center for Health and Cancer Prevention

Virginia Beach, VA

New patient visit

$225

Midwest Digestive Center

Willowbrook, IL

New patient office visit

$228

Physicians Regional Healthcare System, Collier (MDsave)

Naples, FL

Office visit or consultation

$200

Curative GI

Houston, TX

Optional consultation

About $125

ColonoscopyAssist

National program

Bowel prep medicine

About $30 (suggested budget)

ColonoscopyAssist

National program

Stacked bar chart of example colonoscopy bills with add-ons, totaling $1,825 at Midwest Digestive Center, $1,105 at the Center for Health and Cancer Prevention, and $1,425 for the bundled program median plus bowel prep

Key Findings

  • Midwest Digestive Center in Willowbrook, Illinois, lists its colonoscopy with conscious sedation at $1,000 to $1,200 and charges MAC anesthesia and pathology separately. With two specimens and a new patient visit, an example bill reaches $1,825.

  • The Center for Health and Cancer Prevention in Virginia Beach includes the physician, facility, anesthesia medication, and nurse anesthetist in its $975 price. With two pathology specimens, the example total is $1,105.

  • An unbundled quote can look cheaper than a bundle and cost more once anesthesia, pathology, and a first visit are added. When comparing cash prices, patients get a fair comparison by asking whether each quote includes anesthesia, pathology, and the office visit.

For uninsured patients, the setting moves the price more than the location does. A colonoscopy booked through a hospital outpatient department costs well above the same procedure at a surgery center or through a bundled program, and the gap between the hospital and bundled program medians runs past $1,000.

The broader picture is a cash market where colonoscopy prices are posted in advance. Marketplace listings, bundled programs, and practice price pages let a patient compare before booking, though each one defines its bundle a little differently.

So if you need a colonoscopy without insurance, the posted cash prices in our data run from $975 to $4,142, with most bundled city prices between $1,325 and $1,555.

  • We read every price page on November 5, 2026. Prices are as posted on that date.

  • ColonoscopyAssist prices come from its city list page, one price per city (216 cities in 40 states). Where a city appeared twice, the first listed price was kept. The program's price covers the physician, facility, anesthesia, polyp removal and biopsies, and pathology; bowel prep is extra.

  • MDsave prices are one price per facility (48 facilities: 36 hospitals and 12 surgery centers or GI practices in 19 states), from individual listings and state or regional listing pages. MDsave bundles the facility and physician fees and, in most listings, anesthesia and pathology; a few listings exclude pathology.

  • Practice prices are the lowest posted price for a standard colonoscopy. Midwest Digestive Center's $1,000 to $1,200 range is counted at $1,000.

  • Facility-only prices, price files more than a year old, and prices without a stated location were left out.

  • Medicare amounts are 2026 national rates as published in Cook Medical's 2026 guide, which draws on the 2026 ambulatory surgical center, hospital outpatient, and physician fee schedules. The physician amounts in that guide use the qualifying APM conversion factor of $33.57. Totals add the facility and physician payments and exclude anesthesia and pathology.

  • State medians include states with four or more listed cities. Example bills in the add-on chart assume two pathology specimens and use posted prices.

  • Derived figures, including medians, quartiles, differences, ratios, and Medicare totals, were calculated from these data.

 
 
 

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