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How to Get a Good Faith Estimate Before Surgery

Use the free tool — Hospital Price Lookup

What a Good Faith Estimate is

A Good Faith Estimate is a written statement of the charges you can reasonably expect for a scheduled procedure. Every hospital also has to post a machine-readable file of its standard charges — gross, discounted cash, payer-negotiated, and de-identified minimum/maximum — plus a consumer-friendly list of at least 300 shoppable services, or a price-estimator tool (CMS — Hospital Price Transparency). CMS enforces this with penalties. None of this tells you your exact bill — only a written estimate from the hospital or your insurer does that.

Your right to it — federal and Florida

• Since January 1, 2022, uninsured and self-pay patients have a federal right to a Good Faith Estimate before scheduled items and services (CMS — Good Faith Estimates & dispute resolution).
• Timing: 3 business days if your procedure is scheduled 10 or more days out; 1 business day if it's scheduled 3–9 days out; and you can ask for one at any time.
• In Florida, Fla. Stat. 395.301 also requires the hospital to give you a written, personalized estimate of reasonably anticipated charges within 7 days of asking, and to post its pricing information (Fla. Stat. 395.301).
• The hospital must tell you which providers — such as the anesthesiologist or a pathologist — might bill you separately.
• For an idea of average paid amounts by procedure and region across Florida, there's the Florida Health Price Finder (AHCA). These are averages, not your bill.

How to ask — put it in writing

Send a portal message, email to the billing or financial counseling department, or a letter. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate and include:

• the procedure name, and the CPT code if your surgeon gave you one
• the date of the procedure
• whether you are self-pay or which plan you have
• a request that the estimate list the facility, surgeon, anesthesia, pathology and imaging separately
• a request for the hospital's self-pay discount and its financial-assistance (charity care) policy — nonprofit hospitals are required to have one

If you have insurance instead

The negotiated rate in the hospital's price file is a starting point, not what you'll owe. Your actual cost depends on your deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket max. Call your insurer, give them the CPT code, and ask for a pre-service estimate of your share. Also ask whether every provider involved — including the anesthesiologist — is in-network. You can still ask the Florida hospital for a written estimate; the 7-day right applies to any patient who requests one, not only the uninsured.

If the bill comes in higher

If you're self-pay and the final bill is $400 or more above your Good Faith Estimate, you can use the patient-provider dispute resolution process. You have 120 days from the date of the bill, and there is a small fee (CMS — Good Faith Estimates & dispute resolution). If a hospital won't post its prices, or won't give you a written estimate at all, you can report it (CMS — Hospital price transparency complaint).

This page is not medical, legal or financial advice, and it never suggests delaying care your doctor says you need. It does not state or guess prices — every number must come from the hospital, your insurer, CMS or AHCA. Confirm deadlines and the dispute process directly with CMS.

What to do next

Type the procedure and the hospital into the free tool. It does not give you a price. It shows you where that hospital's price file and estimate-request contact are, which deadline applies to your situation, and a short written request you can send today — in English or Spanish. Nothing you paste is stored.

Hospital Price Lookup explains federal and Florida price-transparency and estimate rights in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not medical, legal or financial advice. It does not state prices. Confirm with the hospital, your insurer, CMS or AHCA. Nothing you paste is stored.