To learn health care costs in your area:

Contact Medicare

• Medicare will give you the amount that Medicare allows for a particular service.
• Call Medicare at 800.MEDICARE  (800.633.4227). Ask to speak with a claims representative.
• NOTE: Before contacting Medicare, ask your doctor for the procedure code for the medical treatment. (In medical jargon, this is known as the "CPT code")
  

Check prices yourself.

For example:

• Call other providers in your area to find out what would be charged for the service you need. Perhaps there are providers who are not close by, but that you can reasonably get to.
• Contact your local disease specific nonprofit organization.

Contact your doctor (or his or her office manager) or other service provider.

• Ask the amount of the charge for the service in question. 
• You are likely to find that there are several prices, such a price for patients who are not insured and for patients who are insured. There may even be different prices for different insurers. 
• The cheapest prices are generally reserved for people with Medicaid or a health insurance with an insurer that has a relationship with the provider. Highest prices are generally charged to uninsured patients.

NOTE: Perhaps you can convince the provider to give you the insurance company rate. If the provider will not agree to the lowest rate, perhaps there will be agreement to at least give you a low one.

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