# Laser treatment for clouding after cataract surgery in GA

Billing code `66821`. Prices for this code at 61 hospitals in GA, taken from the machine-readable standard charge files each hospital is required to publish under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR 180.50).

Source page: https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/laser-treatment-for-clouding-after-cataract-surgery

After cataract laser surgery

**Where this is done matters more than which hospital:** Laser treatment for clouding after cataract surgery is a procedure a doctor's office can perform, and Medicare pays about 2.5x more for it at a hospital outpatient department than in an office. Every price below is a hospital's, and excludes the doctor's separate bill. Do not quote these as the cost of the procedure without saying which setting they describe.

## Before quoting any figure below

- **Hospital charges only.** The surgeon, anaesthetist, radiologist and pathologist bill separately and appear in no hospital price file, by construction. Every figure below is part of a total, never the total.
- **A negotiated rate is not a bill.** It is what a hospital and an insurer agreed. What a patient owes depends on their deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum.
- **Each hospital's figure is a median across its own plans.** The spread inside one hospital is often wider than the gap between two of them.
- **"not mentioned" is not $0.** It means this hospital's file does not label a row that way. Silence is not a statement that the charge does not exist.
- **A hospital absent from the table says nothing about its prices.** It may publish this code under a revenue or drug code this site cannot map to a procedure.

A procedure code is billed twice -- once by the hospital for its own costs, once by the doctor for their work -- and hospitals publish different sides of that split under the same code. Of the hospitals here, 28 publish a facility charge; 4 publish both, mixed together; 29 do not label which half the figure is.

## Typical price

|  | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cheapest tenth | $545 |
| Typical | $1,131 |
| Dearest tenth | $3,942 |

The cheapest and dearest tenth are the hospitals a tenth of the way in from each end, not the single cheapest and dearest. Every hospital, including both extremes, is in the table below.

That is a 7-fold difference for the same billing code -- a gap between hospitals, not between treatments.

## Every hospital publishing this code

| Hospital | Where | CMS rating | Typical | Facility charge | Physician fee | Self-pay | Lowest | Highest | Plans on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Regional Medical Center | HINESVILLE | not rated | $84 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $378 | $81 | $353 | 6 |
| Atrium Health Navicent Peach | BYRON | 1/5 | see split | $2,120 | $336 | not published | $321 | $2,120 | 21 |
| Grady Memorial Hospital | ATLANTA | 2/5 | see split | $1,451 | $252 | $2,501 | $118 | $4,275 | 123 |
| Atrium Health Navicent the Medical Center | MACON | 2/5 | see split | $1,060 | $355 | not published | $279 | $5,079 | 38 |
| Navicent Health Baldwin | MILLEDGEVILLE | 2/5 | see split | $543 | $314 | not published | $279 | $5,479 | 30 |
| Putnam General Hospital | EATONTON | not rated | $543 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $557 | $307 | $947 | 26 |
| Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center | ROME | 2/5 | $545 | $545 | not mentioned | not published | $535 | $1,636 | 15 |
| Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown | COLUMBUS | 2/5 | $843 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $326 | $157 | $1,088 | 20 |
| Piedmont Columbus Regional Northside | COLUMBUS | 5/5 | $843 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $326 | $1 | $1,088 | 18 |
| AdventHealth Murray | CHATSWORTH | 5/5 | $892 | $892 | not mentioned | not published | $512 | $2,234 | 8 |
| Chi Memorial Hospital- Georgia | RINGGOLD | 3/5 | $902 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $167 | $2,470 | 20 |
| WellStar MCG Health, Affiliated with Med Col | AUGUSTA | 1/5 | $918 | $918 | not mentioned | $722 | $482 | $4,714 | 22 |
| AdventHealth Gordon | CALHOUN | 3/5 | $964 | $964 | not mentioned | not published | $547 | $2,234 | 11 |
| Piedmont Mountainside Hospital | JASPER | 4/5 | $990 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $154 | $1,414 | 17 |
| Piedmont Walton Hospital | MONROE | 4/5 | $990 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $127 | $1,414 | 17 |
| WellStar West Georgia Medical Center | LAGRANGE | 5/5 | $1,031 | $1,031 | not mentioned | $722 | $541 | $4,714 | 14 |
| Piedmont Macon North Hospital | MACON | 4/5 | $1,032 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $130 | $1,414 | 17 |
| Coliseum Medical Centers | MACON | 3/5 | $1,032 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $97 | $1,414 | 17 |
| Piedmont Rockdale Hospital | CONYERS | 3/5 | $1,032 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $170 | $1,414 | 18 |
| Emory Houston Hospital Warner Robins | WARNER ROBINS | 2/5 | $1,045 | $1,045 | not mentioned | not published | $493 | $5,346 | 13 |
| WellStar Spalding Medical Center | GRIFFIN | 2/5 | $1,051 | $1,051 | not mentioned | $722 | $552 | $4,714 | 14 |
| Piedmont Eastside Medical Center | SNELLVILLE | 2/5 | $1,053 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $276 | $1,414 | 18 |
| Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center | CARTERSVILLE | 3/5 | $1,060 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $167 | $1,414 | 19 |
| WellStar Douglas Medical Center | DOUGLASVILLE | 3/5 | $1,085 | $1,085 | not mentioned | $722 | $554 | $4,714 | 13 |
| WellStar North Fulton Medical Center | ROSWELL | 2/5 | $1,095 | $1,095 | not mentioned | $722 | $559 | $4,714 | 13 |
| WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center | MARIETTA | 4/5 | $1,095 | $1,095 | not mentioned | $722 | $559 | $4,714 | 13 |
| WellStar Paulding Medical Center | HIRAM | 4/5 | $1,095 | $1,095 | not mentioned | $722 | $559 | $4,714 | 13 |
| WellStar Cobb Medical Center | AUSTELL | 3/5 | $1,095 | $1,095 | not mentioned | $722 | $559 | $4,714 | 13 |
| Piedmont Fayette Hospital | FAYETTEVILLE | 3/5 | $1,096 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $130 | $1,414 | 18 |
| Piedmont Hospital | ATLANTA | 4/5 | $1,096 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $161 | $1,414 | 18 |
| Piedmont Henry Hospital | STOCKBRIDGE | 2/5 | $1,131 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $120 | $1,414 | 18 |
| Piedmont Newnan Hospital | NEWNAN | 4/5 | $1,131 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $133 | $1,414 | 18 |
| Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center | ATHENS | 4/5 | $1,159 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $150 | $1,414 | 19 |
| Piedmont Newton Hospital | COVINGTON | 3/5 | $1,202 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $424 | $138 | $1,414 | 17 |
| Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica | VILLA RICA | 3/5 | $1,382 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,382 | $501 | $2,142 | 17 |
| St Francis Hospital- Emory Healthcare | COLUMBUS | 3/5 | $1,449 | $1,449 | not mentioned | not published | $369 | $3,353 | 16 |
| AdventHealth Redmond | ROME | 4/5 | $1,727 | $1,727 | not mentioned | not published | $572 | $3,277 | 13 |
| St Joseph's Hospital - Savannah | SAVANNAH | 2/5 | $1,842 | $1,842 | not mentioned | not published | $482 | $5,657 | 22 |
| Candler Hospital | SAVANNAH | 2/5 | $1,842 | $1,842 | not mentioned | not published | $482 | $5,657 | 22 |
| Hamilton Medical Center | DALTON | 3/5 | $2,219 | $2,219 | not mentioned | not published | $2,114 | $3,593 | 3 |
| Emory Hillandale Hospital | LITHONIA | 1/5 | $2,296 | $2,296 | not mentioned | not published | $552 | $5,346 | 17 |
| Memorial Health University Medical Center | SAVANNAH | 1/5 | $2,530 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $1,056 | $7,512 | 209 |
| Memorial Health Meadows Hospital | VIDALIA | 5/5 | $2,550 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $1,116 | $17,850 | 133 |
| Emory University Hospital Midtown | ATLANTA | 2/5 | $2,679 | $2,679 | not mentioned | not published | $559 | $5,346 | 19 |
| Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta | ATLANTA | 3/5 | $2,679 | $2,679 | not mentioned | not published | $559 | $5,346 | 19 |
| Emory Johns Creek Hospital | JOHNS CREEK | 4/5 | $2,679 | $2,679 | not mentioned | not published | $559 | $5,346 | 19 |
| Emory University Hospital | ATLANTA | 4/5 | $2,679 | $2,679 | not mentioned | not published | $552 | $5,346 | 19 |
| Emory Decatur Hospital | DECATUR | 2/5 | $2,679 | $2,679 | not mentioned | not published | $552 | $5,346 | 19 |
| WellStar Sylvan Grove Medical Center | JACKSON | not rated | $2,758 | $2,758 | not mentioned | $722 | $1,641 | $4,714 | 6 |
| Doctors Hospital | AUGUSTA | 3/5 | $2,761 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $1,116 | $7,512 | 195 |
| Northside Hospital Forsyth | CUMMING | 4/5 | $3,476 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $427 | $50,000 | 107 |
| Northside Hospital Cherokee | CANTON | 4/5 | $3,623 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $427 | $50,000 | 109 |
| Fairview Park Hospital | DUBLIN | 4/5 | $3,633 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $1,116 | $7,512 | 227 |
| Northside Hospital Duluth | DULUTH | 4/5 | $3,818 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $427 | $50,000 | 111 |
| Northside Hospital | ATLANTA | 3/5 | $3,942 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $427 | $50,000 | 108 |
| Northside Hospital Gwinnett | LAWRENCEVILLE | 3/5 | $4,061 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $427 | $50,000 | 111 |
| Memorial Satilla Health | WAYCROSS | 3/5 | $4,289 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $1,116 | $7,512 | 166 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham | DEMOREST | 3/5 | $5,306 | $5,306 | not mentioned | not published | $482 | $14,322 | 10 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin | DAHLONEGA | 5/5 | $8,563 | $8,563 | not mentioned | not published | $571 | $14,322 | 9 |
| NGMC Barrow | WINDER | 4/5 | $8,563 | $8,563 | not mentioned | not published | $552 | $14,322 | 9 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center | GAINESVILLE | 3/5 | $8,563 | $8,563 | not mentioned | not published | $541 | $14,322 | 9 |

## Self-pay

Self-pay is what the hospital charges someone paying themselves rather than through insurance. Paying self-pay usually does not count toward a deductible, so it can cost less for one service and more across a year. Every other figure here is what an insurer pays, not what a patient would.

At 24 of the 28 hospitals here that publish a self-pay price it is LOWER than what that same hospital typically accepts from an insurer; at the other 4 it is higher.

## The doctor's side, roughly

Nationally, Medicare allows about $285 for the clinician who performs or reads this service, across 4,178 billing providers in 2024. That is a separate bill from everything above and is NOT added to any figure on this page -- it is here to show the rough size of what a hospital price leaves out.

1 of these 61 hospitals have not published an updated price file in over a year, or do not say when they last did. Hospitals are required to update at least annually, so those figures may not reflect what they charge now: Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica.

## Others in eye care

- [Cataract removal with lens implant](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/cataract-removal-with-lens-implant) -- 61 hospitals, typically $4,178

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Every procedure with a published price in GA: https://clearcharge.org/price/ga
Prices that look wrong: info@clearcharge.org

Compiled by Clearcharge (clearcharge.org) from each hospital's machine-readable standard-charge file. When quoting a figure, cite the source page above. The hospital files behind these figures state data through dates from 2024-07-01 to 2026-07-01; per-hospital staleness is flagged above.