Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes
What Medicare pays for 99231, what providers bill, and how the price varies across 55 states, drawn from CMS 2023 claims data.
99231 · the short answer
For subsequent hospital care with straightforward or low level of medical decision making, per day, if using time, at least 25 minutes, Medicare pays about $37.76 while providers bill $114.23 on average, a 3.0× markup, one of the smaller markups in the catalog. State-level Medicare rates range 46% from lowest to highest.
- Medicare pays
- $37.76
- Providers bill
- $114.23
- Markup
- 3.0×
- Markup percentile
- 18th
Medicare amounts are CMS-published; markup = average submitted charge ÷ average Medicare payment.
Price Range Across States
What You Might Pay
Estimated using RAND 2024 commercial-to-Medicare ratios. Actual prices vary by insurer, plan, and facility.
How we estimate these prices
These estimates are based on the RAND Hospital Price Transparency Study (4th Edition, 2024), which found that commercial insurance prices average 224% of Medicare rates nationally. We apply category-specific ratios: Hospital Visit procedures average 2.24x Medicare rates. Cash/self-pay estimates blend typical cash discounts (55% of billed charges) with Medicare-based estimates (150% of allowed amounts). These are statistical estimates, not quotes. Contact your insurer or provider for actual costs.
Where this markup sits nationally
Markup (billed ÷ Medicare) across 8,901 procedures with a meaningful Medicare rate
3 more affordable than 18% of 8,901 procedures
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more procedures. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners · 2023
Prices by State
| State | Medicare Payment | Billed Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $50.34 | $211.38 |
| New York | $41.86 | $143.26 |
| District of Columbia | $41.75 | $116.06 |
| California | $40.41 | $130.25 |
| New Jersey | $40.27 | $140.26 |
| Maryland | $39.42 | $118.78 |
| Illinois | $39.10 | $115.49 |
| Connecticut | $38.93 | $112.15 |
| Florida | $38.63 | $113.65 |
| Massachusetts | $38.52 | $127.71 |
| Michigan | $38.25 | $94.23 |
| Hawaii | $38.17 | $111.12 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | $38.15 | $140.42 |
| Nevada | $38.05 | $110.76 |
| Pennsylvania | $37.61 | $101.63 |
| Rhode Island | $37.57 | $118.42 |
| Virginia | $37.42 | $101.14 |
| Delaware | $37.38 | $100.15 |
| Montana | $37.35 | $115.44 |
| Washington | $37.33 | $138.71 |
| Texas | $37.15 | $106.70 |
| Colorado | $37.13 | $121.47 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $37.04 | $93.34 |
| Puerto Rico | $37.03 | $82.46 |
| New Hampshire | $36.95 | $148.87 |
| Louisiana | $36.94 | $91.42 |
| Arizona | $36.82 | $116.27 |
| Guam | $36.78 | $122.53 |
| Georgia | $36.76 | $114.75 |
| New Mexico | $36.69 | $107.35 |
| West Virginia | $36.64 | $113.00 |
| Oregon | $36.52 | $122.99 |
| Missouri | $36.43 | $97.97 |
| South Carolina | $36.22 | $101.55 |
| North Dakota | $36.22 | $122.27 |
| Ohio | $36.13 | $104.01 |
| Kentucky | $36.11 | $91.32 |
| Vermont | $36.07 | $129.34 |
| Maine | $36.06 | $116.95 |
| Utah | $36.01 | $85.70 |
| Oklahoma | $36.00 | $90.06 |
| North Carolina | $35.77 | $126.18 |
| Alabama | $35.73 | $72.92 |
| Minnesota | $35.61 | $150.16 |
| Wyoming | $35.51 | $143.45 |
| Kansas | $35.39 | $95.20 |
| Arkansas | $35.24 | $84.85 |
| Indiana | $35.20 | $92.46 |
| Wisconsin | $35.19 | $162.91 |
| South Dakota | $35.16 | $90.27 |
| Tennessee | $34.92 | $97.71 |
| Mississippi | $34.71 | $85.80 |
| Iowa | $34.63 | $113.79 |
| Nebraska | $34.48 | $100.34 |
| Idaho | $34.36 | $96.82 |
What the Data Says About Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes
Across 55 states with reporting providers, CPT code 99231 (Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes) shows a national average Medicare payment of $37.76 against an average billed charge of $114.23. That gap, a 3.0x markup, or 203% above the Medicare allowed amount, is among the tightest billed-to-paid spreads we track, this code's chargemaster rate tracks unusually close to the Medicare benchmark.
Hospital Visit procedures like this one saw 4.6M services billed to Medicare in 2023 by 202.2K distinct providers, serving 1.3M unique beneficiaries. State-level variation is significant: Idaho reports the lowest average payment at $34.36, while Alaska reports the highest at $50.34. The 46% spread here is a moderate, fairly ordinary GPCI effect, local cost-of-practice adjustments nudging the allowed amount up or down without reshaping it.
Applying RAND 2024 commercial-to-Medicare ratios specific to the Hospital Visit category (2.24x), the estimated commercial insurance price lands near $107.41, with self-pay cash discounts commonly bringing the figure closer to $67.38. Within Hospital Visit, Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes ranks #16 of 16 tracked procedures by national average Medicare payment.
What to do with this
If you may have subsequent hospital care with straightforward or low level of medical decision making, per day, if using time, at least 25 minutes done, these steps turn the numbers above into a real-world cost estimate.
- Request a Good Faith Estimate from your provider at least 3 business days before a scheduled procedure, under the No Surprises Act it is an enforceable written price.
- Compare subsequent hospital care with straightforward or low level of medical decision making, per day, if using time, at least 25 minutes costs in your state, Medicare rates vary by locality. Browse states
- Check a hospital’s published cash price, which is often far below the billed charge. Price transparency
- Understand why billed charges run several times the Medicare rate before you negotiate. Read the guide
Figures here are averages and estimates, not a quote. Confirm coverage and out-of-pocket costs with your insurer and provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes cost?
Medicare's national average payment for Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes (CPT 99231) is $37.76, with providers billing $114.23 on average; state rates run from $34.36 to $50.34, a meaningful but not extreme spread.
Why do providers charge more than Medicare pays?
Providers set their own chargemaster rates (billed charges), which are typically much higher than what any insurer pays. Medicare pays a fixed rate based on the procedure code and geographic location. The billed charge is relevant mainly for uninsured patients, who may face prices closer to the submitted charge.
How much does Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes cost with insurance?
With commercial insurance, subsequent hospital care with straightforward or low level of medical decision making, per day, if using time, at least 25 minutes costs an estimated $107.41 on average (range: $75.19-$150.38), a moderate premium over Medicare's $37.76. Without insurance, the estimated cash price is $67.38.
Which state has the lowest cost for Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes?
Idaho has the lowest average Medicare payment for Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes at $34.36, while Alaska has the highest at $50.34 - a meaningful $15.98 spread.
How many providers perform Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes?
Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes is a widely-performed procedure: 202.2K providers billed Medicare for it in 2023 across 55 states, together handling 4.6M services for 1.3M beneficiaries.
What is the billed-to-Medicare markup for Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes?
Providers bill 3.0x what Medicare pays for Subsequent Hospital Care With Straightforward Or Low Level Of Medical Decision Making, Per Day, If Using Time, At Least 25 Minutes - one of the smaller markups in the catalog at 203% above the Medicare rate.
Related Guides
Tips to reduce out-of-pocket costs
Your right to upfront pricing
How Medicare payments work
Decode charges and codes
Why bills exceed actual costs
Geographic pricing factors
Data from CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners (2023).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainProcedure is rendered directly from CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.