Where our numbers come from
Every price on CashCareGuide must be traceable to a published source that we opened and read. We rank sources into three tiers, and you can see the tier next to every citation at the bottom of an article, or browse every organization we cite in one place.
- Tier 1, government and independent research. Federal and state agencies (CMS, CDC, HHS and ASPE, HRSA, FDA, IRS, CFPB, the Federal Register), official program sites, and independent health-policy institutions such as KFF, the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, the Commonwealth Fund, and FAIR Health. Where a Tier 1 figure exists, it anchors the article.
- Tier 2, primary pricing from whoever sets it. Manufacturer price pages, pharmacy and retailer listings, laboratory menus, surgery centers publishing cash rates, hospital financial-assistance policies, price-transparency datasets, and clinical associations and nonprofits that run the programs we describe.
- Tier 3, supporting context. Health and consumer-finance publishers. Useful for corroboration and background, never the sole basis for a price we publish.
Our standing rules: every headline number needs two independent sources or one Tier 1 or Tier 2 primary; the data vintage is stated in the text so you know how fresh a figure is; and when sources disagree, we publish the range across them and say so rather than picking the convenient number.
What we will not do
- Publish a price we cannot source
- Present a national average as a promise of what you will pay
- Give medical advice, or advise anyone to delay or skip needed care
- Let advertisers influence which prices, providers, or programs we cover
Updates and corrections
Each article displays its last-updated date. Every source link on the site is automatically re-checked on a recurring schedule, and any source that goes dead is replaced rather than quietly left behind. We re-verify the prices in our most-read guides quarterly, and seasonal guides such as flu shots are re-checked before each season. We refresh the updated date only when figures were genuinely re-checked, not to make an article look new.
To report an error, use the contact page. Verified corrections are made promptly.
Advertising
CashCareGuide is supported by display advertising. Ads are clearly labeled, and advertisers have no input into editorial content, article selection, or the prices and programs we recommend.