costkits-mcp

CostKits MCP Server

Give Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other MCP clients access to live US healthcare cost data.

CostKits provides procedure cost estimates, patient out-of-pocket calculations, provider pricing, and insurance coverage rules using hospital-transparency and CMS data rather than model memory.

Ask healthcare cost questions in natural language. CostKits supplies the structured data and calculations.

A hosted Model Context Protocol server. No API key, no signup. It powers the CostKits app in ChatGPT and works with any MCP client that supports remote servers.

What can an agent do with CostKits?

Ask questions such as:

• "What would a colonoscopy cost in Connecticut?"
• "How much would I owe if I have $500 left on my deductible and 20% coinsurance?"
• "Compare MRI prices from providers near Dallas."
• "Does this procedure commonly require prior authorization?"
• "Resolve 'knee scan' to the correct procedure and estimate the cost."

The MCP server selects the appropriate CostKits API tools and returns structured healthcare cost data the model can explain to the user.

User question
    ↓
MCP client
    ↓
CostKits MCP tool
    ↓
CostKits healthcare cost API
    ↓
Structured estimate, provider pricing, coverage rule, or bill-analysis result

Connect

Remote (recommended): add the server URL in any client that supports remote MCP servers (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and others):

https://mcp.costkits.com/mcp

Claude Desktop via npm: the package is a thin shim that forwards to the hosted server.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "costkits": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@costkits/costkits-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Available tools

Tool	What it does
resolve_procedure	Match a plain-language procedure name to a supported procedure
list_procedures	The procedure catalog with CPT codes
get_procedure_details	Billing rules, cost drivers, and which separate bills to expect
estimate_procedure_cost	Cost range in a state, with expected out-of-pocket if you give plan details
full_estimate	Procedure, cost, providers, and liability in one call
calculate_liability	Deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket math for a dollar amount
find_providers	Providers with observed hospital-transparency prices (up to 10 per call)
get_provider	Public profile for one provider by NPI
get_coverage	Prior auth, cost-sharing, and frequency rules by carrier
list_carriers	Supported insurance carriers
demo_estimate	Sample estimate, for checking your connection

For bill review, use the CostKits app. Bill analysis is not available through this server.

Privacy and data handling

These tools do not need patient names, member IDs, dates of birth, or medical-record identifiers, and you should not send them. Requests are logged without free text, only the tool, procedure, and state.

Local development

npm install
npm run start:http   # hosted server on :8787, set COSTKITS_API_KEY for a server-side key
npm run smoke        # stdio shim against a local hosted server
npm run smoke:http   # hosted server contract

Env var	Used by	Purpose
COSTKITS_MCP_URL	stdio shim	Override the hosted URL (default https://mcp.costkits.com/mcp)
COSTKITS_API_KEY	hosted server	Server-side key for the CostKits backend
COSTKITS_API_BASE	hosted server	Backend base URL
RATE_LIMIT_PER_MIN	hosted server	Per-IP limit (default 60)

Links

costkits.com · Interactive demo

About CostKits

CostKits is a healthcare cost-transparency platform built by John Caruso, FSA, MAAA, a healthcare actuary with more than 20 years of experience in insurance pricing, medical billing systems, and healthcare cost analytics.

This MCP server gives AI assistants and agents access to CostKits cost data.

Methodology

License

MIT