Procedures

The 50 Most Common Medical Procedures and What They Really Cost

The highest-volume Medicare procedures ranked by services, with real cost data.

What are the most frequently performed medical procedures in America? Using 2023 Medicare data covering 1.81B total services, we ranked every procedure by volume to find the 50 most common.

Together, these 50 procedures account for 1.15B services — a massive share of all Medicare activity. The costs range from a few dollars for basic lab tests to thousands for surgical procedures.

The Top 50 by Volume

#CodeProcedureServicesMedicare AllowedHospital ChargeMarkup
1K1034Provision of covid-19 test, nonprescription self-administered and self-collected use, fda approved, authorized or cleared, one test count153.5M$11.62$16.211.3950086058519795x
299214Established patient office or other outpatient visit, 30-39 minutes100.6M$117.90$262.192.2238337574215437x
3A0425Ground mileage, per statute mile99.5M$9.23$24.622.66738894907909x
499213Established patient office or other outpatient visit, 20-29 minutes71.5M$83.97$179.132.133261879242587x
597110Therapy procedure using exercise to develop strength, endurance, range of motion, and flexibility, each 15 minutes64.8M$23.39$67.232.874305258657546x
6P9603Travel allowance one way in connection with medically necessary laboratory specimen collection drawn from home bound or nursing home bound patient; prorated miles actually travelled46.3M$1.05$1.651.5714285714285712x
736415Insertion of needle into vein for collection of blood sample40.5M$8.18$19.172.343520782396088x
897530Therapy procedure using functional activities37.1M$32.57$72.282.2192201412342647x
999232Subsequent hospital care with moderate levelof medical decision making, if using time, at least 35 minutes35.6M$77.77$197.372.537868072521538x
1097112Therapy procedure to re-educate brain-to-nerve-to-muscle function, each 15 minutes30.0M$27.97$70.132.5073292813728996x
1197140Therapy procedure using manual technique, each 15 minutes29.5M$21.06$65.473.1087369420702755x
1280053Blood test, comprehensive group of blood chemicals27.1M$10.33$59.845.792836398838335x
1385025Complete blood cell count (red cells, white blood cell, platelets), automated test and automated differential white blood cell count26.2M$7.59$36.174.765480895915679x
1499233Subsequent hospital care with moderate levelof medical decision making, if using time, at least 50 minutes22.3M$118.00$305.582.5896610169491523x
1517003Destruction of precancer skin growth, 2-14 growths19.4M$6.26$21.983.511182108626198x
1688305Pathology examination of tissue using a microscope, intermediate complexity18.3M$50.98$184.283.6147508826990977x
1780061Blood test, lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides)17.4M$13.09$91.156.963330786860199x
1893010Routine electrocardiogram (ecg) using at least 12 leads with interpretation and report only15.2M$8.09$43.715.402966625463535x
1983036Hemoglobin a1c level14.1M$9.49$56.425.945205479452055x
2084443Blood test, thyroid stimulating hormone (tsh)13.9M$16.44$92.495.625912408759123x
2171045X-ray of chest, 1 view13.1M$9.16$50.655.529475982532751x
2298941Chiropractic manipulative treatment, 3-4 spinal regions13.0M$38.87$59.731.5366606637509648x
2399204New patient office or other outpatient visit, 45-59 minutes12.5M$157.93$393.752.4931931868549357x
2499309Subsequent nursing facility care with moderate level of medical decision making, per day, if using time, at least 30 minutes12.4M$97.41$203.032.0842829278308184x
25G0008Administration of influenza virus vaccine12.2M$28.92$39.231.356500691562932x
2699215Established patient office or other outpatient visit, 40-54 minutes12.1M$163.05$383.552.3523459061637535x
27J2403Chloroprocaine hcl ophthalmic, 3% gel, 1 mg11.2M$0.69$1.201.7391304347826089x
2899308Subsequent nursing facility care with straightforward level of medical decision making, per day, if using time, at least 15 minutes10.9M$70.38$152.642.1687979539641944x
2993000Routine electrocardiogram (ecg) using at least 12 leads with interpretation and report10.3M$14.51$67.914.680220537560303x
3099223Initial hospital care with moderate level of medical decision making, if using time, at least 75 minutes10.0M$170.83$556.023.254814728092255x
31G0439Annual wellness visit, includes a personalized prevention plan of service (pps), subsequent visit9.9M$117.53$266.432.266910576023143x
3292014Established patient complete exam of visual system9.4M$125.45$220.421.7570346751693902x
3399203New patient office or other outpatient visit, 30-44 minutes9.2M$105.20$255.852.4320342205323193x
3466984Removal of cataract with insertion of prosthetic lens8.7M$229.60$972.984.237717770034843x
3599285Emergency department visit with high level of medical decision making8.6M$172.46$1,2056.985677838339325x
3687798Detection test by nucleic acid for organism, amplified probe technique8.4M$34.35$65.781.9149927219796214x
3795004Test for allergy using allergenic extract8.4M$4.04$13.123.2475247524752473x
3892134Imaging of retina8.0M$39.48$121.773.084346504559271x
3999212Established patient office or other outpatient visit, 10-19 minutes7.4M$52.30$112.612.1531548757170174x
4096372Injection of drug or substance under skin or into muscle7.2M$13.40$54.484.065671641791044x
4190480Admn sarscov2 vacc 1 dose7.0M$37.15$48.681.310363391655451x
4271046X-ray of chest, 2 views6.9M$16.84$69.594.132422802850357x
4393306Ultrasound of heart with color-depicted blood flow, rate, direction and valve function6.7M$114.54$468.794.092806006635237x
4481001Manual urinalysis test with examination using microscope, automated6.4M$3.10$30.429.812903225806451x
4582306Vitamin d-3 level6.3M$28.95$177.406.127806563039724x
4690837Psychotherapy, 1 hour6.2M$121.38$201.701.6617235129345855x
4717000Destruction of precancer skin growth, 1 growth6.1M$50.17$151.993.029499701016544x
4899222Initial hospital care with straightforward or low-level medical decision making, if using time, at least 55 minutes6.1M$127.64$365.212.861250391726731x
4977067Screening mammography6.1M$67.05$240.463.586278896346011x
5095165Professional service for preparation and provision of 1 or more antigens5.9M$14.47$28.211.949550794747754x

Key Takeaways

Office visits and evaluation & management codes dominate the top of the list. These are the bread-and-butter of medical practice — the routine visits that keep the healthcare system running. Lab tests and imaging round out the high-volume categories.

Notice the markup column: even for the most common procedures, hospitals routinely charge 2-5x what Medicare allows. The gap tends to be widest for lab tests and diagnostic procedures.