Terms of Service

By accessing or using ClearCost (the “Service”), operated by ClearCost, Inc. (“ClearCost,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and ClearCost. Please read them carefully before using the Service.

If you do not agree to these Terms in their entirety, you must not access or use the Service. Your continued use of the Service after any modification to these Terms constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

These Terms apply to all visitors, registered users, and anyone else who accesses or uses the Service. By using the Service, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age or are accessing the Service under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms.

ClearCost is a healthcare price transparency tool that helps consumers research and compare hospital prices for medical procedures. The Service allows users to enter plain-language descriptions of healthcare services (e.g., “knee MRI”), which are translated into standardized medical billing codes (CPT, HCPCS, MS-DRG), and returns pricing information from hospitals nationwide.

Pricing data is sourced from Machine Readable Files (MRFs) published by hospitals pursuant to the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 C.F.R. § 180). The Service currently covers pricing information from more than 5,400 hospitals across the United States for over 1,000 procedure codes.

The Service includes a guided search feature that uses artificial intelligence to ask clarifying questions to help identify the appropriate billing codes for a user's healthcare needs. These questions are administrative in nature — they are designed to identify relevant billing codes, not to provide clinical assessment or medical recommendations.

ClearCost is provided for informational purposes only. The Service does not schedule appointments, facilitate transactions between users and healthcare providers, or guarantee any particular price from any provider.

ClearCost is not a medical device, clinical decision support system, healthcare provider, or licensed healthcare professional. No provider-patient relationship is created between you and ClearCost by virtue of your use of the Service.

The guided search clarifying questions are designed solely to identify the administrative billing codes most likely to correspond to the healthcare service you are researching. They are not a clinical assessment, medical evaluation, or triage tool, and should not be interpreted as medical recommendations. The questions help narrow billing code identification — they do not constitute diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment planning.

Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information you obtained through the Service. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, a crisis line, or emergency services immediately.

ClearCost has not been evaluated or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is expressly exempt from FDA regulation as a clinical decision support (CDS) software tool under Section 3060 of the 21st Century Cures Act.

Pricing data displayed by the Service is obtained from Machine Readable Files (MRFs) that hospitals are required to publish under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule. ClearCost aggregates, processes, and presents this publicly available data to make it more accessible to consumers.

Prices are estimates and may vary. Prices shown represent self-pay (cash pay) rates or gross charges as reported by individual hospitals. Actual prices you are charged may differ based on your insurance coverage, negotiated rates, facility fees, the specific services rendered, and other factors determined at the time of service.

Prices displayed may not include all fees associated with a procedure. Hospital facility charges typically represent approximately 70–80% of the total cost of a procedure. Additional fees — such as professional fees from physicians, radiologists, anesthesiologists, or other providers — are often billed separately and are not reflected in the prices shown.

Hospital pricing data may change after publication. ClearCost makes reasonable efforts to keep data current but does not guarantee that all pricing information is complete, accurate, or up to date at any given time. Always confirm pricing directly with your healthcare provider before scheduling a service or making any financial decisions.

ClearCost is not responsible for errors or omissions in pricing data submitted by hospitals or processed from MRFs. The Service presents data as reported and does not independently verify the accuracy of hospital-reported prices.

ClearCost offers optional user accounts authenticated via Google OAuth through Supabase. Creating an account is not required to search for pricing information. Account creation is required only to save searches for later reference.

When you create an account, ClearCost collects the information provided by Google as part of the OAuth authentication process, which may include your email address, display name, and profile picture. ClearCost does not collect or store sensitive personal health information (PHI) as defined under HIPAA and is not a HIPAA covered entity or business associate.

Saved searches are stored and protected using row-level security (RLS) policies that ensure your saved data is accessible only to your authenticated account. You may delete your saved searches at any time through the Service. To request deletion of your account and all associated data, contact us at the address provided in these Terms.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Google account credentials. ClearCost is not liable for any loss or damage arising from unauthorized access to your account resulting from your failure to maintain adequate credential security. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

ClearCost uses artificial intelligence — specifically, the Claude API provided by Anthropic, PBC — to interpret plain-language search queries and translate them into standardized medical billing codes. This AI-powered interpretation is a core feature of the Service.

AI interpretation is approximate. The billing codes identified by the AI may not precisely match the codes your healthcare provider ultimately uses for billing purposes. Different providers may use different codes for the same procedure, and coding practices can vary by setting, payer, and clinical circumstance. Always verify billing codes and associated prices directly with your provider.

The guided search uses a multi-turn AI conversation to narrow vague queries to specific billing codes. Questions asked during this process are administrative — designed to identify the most likely applicable billing codes, not to provide a clinical assessment. The AI does not have access to your medical records, history, or any personally identifiable health information.

ClearCost does not use your search queries or conversation history to train AI models. Query data may be processed by Anthropic's systems as part of the API service in accordance with Anthropic's usage policies. We do not sell your query data to third parties.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, CLEARCOST AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE.

Without limiting the foregoing, ClearCost is not liable for:

• Any medical decisions, treatment choices, or healthcare actions taken in reliance on pricing information displayed by the Service;
• Any financial decisions made in reliance on prices shown, including unexpected charges or billing discrepancies;
• Any inaccuracy, incompleteness, or outdated nature of pricing data sourced from hospital MRFs;
• Any misidentification of billing codes by the AI interpretation system;
• Any delay or failure in the Service caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

IN NO EVENT SHALL CLEARCOST'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO CLEARCOST IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

The ClearCost name, logo, website design, software, user interface, and all content created by ClearCost — including the AI-generated billing code interpretations, search algorithms, and guided search prompting system — are owned by ClearCost, Inc. and are protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other applicable intellectual property laws.

Hospital pricing data displayed by the Service is sourced from Machine Readable Files published by hospitals as required by federal regulation. This data originates from public sources and is not proprietary to ClearCost. ClearCost's rights in the Service relate to the compilation, processing, presentation, and transformation of this data, not to the underlying pricing figures themselves.

You retain ownership of any search queries you submit and the saved searches stored in your account. By using the Service, you grant ClearCost a limited, non-exclusive license to process your queries for the purpose of providing the Service. We do not claim ownership over the content of your searches.

You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display, or commercially exploit any portion of the Service or its proprietary content without prior written permission from ClearCost.

ClearCost reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service — or any feature thereof — at any time, with or without notice. We shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, applicable law, or our practices. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (such as an in-app notification or email to registered users).

Your continued use of the Service after any changes to these Terms become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service.

We encourage you to review these Terms periodically to stay informed about your rights and obligations. The most current version of these Terms is always available at clearcost.com/legal/terms.

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or related to the Service or these Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

Binding Arbitration. Except for claims that qualify for small claims court, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms — including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate — shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration shall be conducted on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted.

Opt-Out Right. You may opt out of the arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by sending written notice to ClearCost at the contact address below. Opting out does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

If the arbitration agreement is found to be unenforceable for any reason, the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of Delaware for resolution of any dispute.

If you have questions about these Terms or the Service, please contact us at: legal@clearcost.com