Itemized  ·  Compare  ·  Texas Children's Hospital vs HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center

Texas Children's Hospital vs HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center.

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. Texas Children's Hospital is cheaper on more procedures (10 vs 5).

Houston, TX
Texas Children's
Cheaper on 10 of 24 procedures
vs.
Houston, TX
HCA
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 5 of 24 procedures

Head-to-head, by procedure.

Procedure Texas HCA Cheaper
Brain MRI without contrast $2,783 $5,597 Texas ↓
Brain MRI with and without contrast $4,438 $5,935 Texas ↓
Lumbar spine MRI without contrast $3,694 $3,228 HCA ↓
Knee/lower-extremity MRI without contrast $3,174 $2,219 HCA ↓
CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast $4,893 $33,232 Texas ↓
Abdominal ultrasound, complete $947 $5,487 Texas ↓
DXA bone density scan $549 tie
Chest X-ray, single view $348 $1,238 Texas ↓
Comprehensive metabolic panel $706 $45 HCA ↓
Lipid panel $98 $53 HCA ↓
CBC with differential $120 tie
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) $61 $66 Texas ↓
Hemoglobin A1c $93 $38 HCA ↓
Urinalysis $84 $203 Texas ↓
Echocardiogram, complete with Doppler $2,742 $3,379 Texas ↓
Office visit, established patient, level 3 $129 tie
Office visit, established patient, level 4 $177 tie
Lumbar epidural steroid injection $1,473 tie
Polysomnography (sleep study) $3,818 tie
Thyroid ultrasound $494 $1,789 Texas ↓
New patient office visit, level 3 $204 tie
New patient office visit, level 4 $279 tie
Prostate biopsy $800 tie
Carotid duplex ultrasound $1,020 $5,074 Texas ↓

Patient experience.

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

Measure Texas HCA
HCAHPS overall star rating 2/5
Would definitely recommend 64%
Hospital rating 9 or 10 of 10 70%
Nurses always communicated well 75%
Doctors always communicated well 76%
Given clear info about recovery 80%
Room and bathroom always clean 71%
Staff always explained meds 57%
Quiet at night, always 67%

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.