Itemized  ·  Compare  ·  Dell Children's Medical Center vs Heart Hospital of Austin

Dell Children's Medical Center vs Heart Hospital of Austin.

Side-by-side prices for 24 procedures both hospitals publish, plus CMS quality ratings and metro context. Pulled from each hospital's federally-mandated price transparency file. Dell Children's Medical Center is cheaper on more procedures (17 vs 1).

Dell Children's Medical Center
Austin, TX
Ascension Seton
Cheaper on 17 of 24 procedures
vs.
Heart Hospital of Austin
Austin, TX
HCA
Cheaper on 1 of 24 procedures

Head-to-head, by procedure.

Procedure Dell Heart Cheaper
Brain MRI without contrast $1,188 $4,903 Dell ↓
Brain MRI with and without contrast $3,401 $6,941 Dell ↓
Lumbar spine MRI without contrast $2,119 $5,439 Dell ↓
Knee/lower-extremity MRI without contrast $1,268 $4,903 Dell ↓
CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast $5,106 $7,076 Dell ↓
Abdominal ultrasound, complete $531 $1,599 Dell ↓
Mammogram, screening $237 $139 Heart ↓
DXA bone density scan $267 $832 Dell ↓
Chest X-ray, single view $204 $881 Dell ↓
Comprehensive metabolic panel $147 $975 Dell ↓
Lipid panel $188 $662 Dell ↓
CBC with differential $66 — tie
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) $87 $1,061 Dell ↓
Hemoglobin A1c $118 $440 Dell ↓
Urinalysis $27 $33 Dell ↓
Echocardiogram, complete with Doppler $1,742 $3,955 Dell ↓
Office visit, established patient, level 3 — $231 tie
Office visit, established patient, level 4 — $2,345 tie
Lumbar epidural steroid injection — $3,530 tie
Polysomnography (sleep study) $2,972 $7,667 Dell ↓
Thyroid ultrasound $236 $967 Dell ↓
New patient office visit, level 3 — $4,029 tie
New patient office visit, level 4 — $4,911 tie
Carotid duplex ultrasound $740 $1,144 Dell ↓

Patient experience.

CMS HCAHPS patient survey, period ending 03/31/2025. Bold = higher score.

Measure Dell Heart
HCAHPS overall star rating — —
Would definitely recommend — —
Hospital rating 9 or 10 of 10 — —
Nurses always communicated well — —
Doctors always communicated well — —
Given clear info about recovery — —
Room and bathroom always clean — —
Staff always explained meds — —
Quiet at night, always — —

Add your insurance.

Cash-pay is one number. With your insurance plan, the actual price differs. Pick your insurer in the comparison tool to see plan-specific rates at both hospitals.

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How to read this comparison.

The cash-pay price is what an uninsured patient would be charged at each hospital. It's the cleanest apples-to-apples comparison because it doesn't depend on your insurance plan.

The CMS rating is the federal quality composite, built from ~50 measures spanning safety, mortality, readmission, patient experience, and timeliness. A 5-star hospital may not be the best at every procedure, and a 3-star hospital can have a strong specific service line. Treat the rating as one input, not the answer.

For your specific insurance plan, prices can shift dramatically. Some hospitals negotiate steep discounts with one insurer and not another. Always check the plan-specific rate before you book.