How Much Does a Medtronic LINQ Device Cost?

Updated on September 22, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 5 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

Getting a Medtronic LINQ insertable cardiac monitor implanted can cost roughly $6,000 to $14,000 at many U.S. hospitals for self-pay patients, although published prices vary dramatically. Current hospital price-transparency data puts the national median cash price for the insertion procedure near $9,254. Medicare’s 2026 national payment benchmarks range from approximately $4,016 when the procedure is performed in a physician’s office to $8,455 in a hospital outpatient department.

The Medtronic LINQ II is an insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), also commonly called an implantable loop recorder. The device is placed under the skin of the chest and records heart-rhythm information over long periods. The implantation is generally billed under CPT 33285, while ongoing remote rhythm review can generate separate monitoring charges under CPT 93298. What an insured patient actually pays can therefore be far below the hospital’s total procedure price.

Article Highlights

• Hospital cash-price benchmark: roughly $6,000-$14,000 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 5 to 11.7 full-time workweeks, before taxes) covers a substantial portion of current published prices, with a national median around $9,254.
• 2026 Medicare office benchmark: approximately $4,016 for CPT 33285, including the device in the non-facility payment.
• 2026 Medicare ASC benchmark: approximately $7,176 for the facility, plus the professional service.
• 2026 Medicare hospital outpatient benchmark: approximately $8,455 for the facility payment, plus the physician component.
• Ongoing monitoring: remote ICM evaluation can be billed separately, with a 2026 Medicare national global rate of roughly $103 per 30-day monitoring period.
• LINQ II lifespan: Medtronic says the newer monitor can operate for up to 4.5 years under specified settings.

How Much Does a LINQ Implant Cost?

For a U.S. patient trying to budget for LINQ II or another implantable loop recorder, a useful starting range is about $6,000 to $14,000 (about 5 to 11.7 full-time workweeks at $30 per hour) for hospital-published self-pay pricing.

An analysis of current hospital price-transparency files for CPT 33285 found a national median cash price of about $9,254. The middle portion of the usable hospital data falls roughly between $6,000 and $14,000.

Pricing Benchmark	2026 Amount	What It Represents
Physician office Medicare rate	About $4,016	National non-facility payment for CPT 33285, including the device
Ambulatory surgery center	About $7,176	National Medicare ASC facility payment
Hospital outpatient department	About $8,455	National Medicare hospital facility payment
Published hospital self-pay median	About $9,254	Median hospital-published cash price in current transparency data
Common hospital cash band	About $6,000-$14,000	Useful comparison range, not a guaranteed patient quote

These numbers should not be mixed together. Medicare reimbursement, hospital cash prices, hospital gross charges, insurer-negotiated rates, and patient out-of-pocket costs are different measurements.

Does Not Cost $20,000 by Itself

One of the biggest pricing mistakes in older LINQ cost guides is treating the monitor itself as if patients normally buy a $10,000-$20,000 (about 1.9 to 3.8 months of full-time work at $30 per hour) piece of hardware and then pay a second large implantation bill.

That is not how the most useful U.S. pricing data works.

For Medicare’s 2026 physician-office payment, the approximately $4,016 non-facility payment for CPT 33285 includes the cost of the implantable cardiac monitor. In hospital outpatient care, the device may appear under the separate HCPCS device code C1764 for billing purposes, but Medicare packages the device cost into the comprehensive procedure payment rather than simply adding a retail LINQ price on top.

Hospitals can still publish very high gross charges for the device or procedure. Those chargemaster numbers should not automatically be treated as the price a cash-paying patient, insurer, or Medicare actually pays.

This is why asking “How much does the LINQ device itself cost?” is usually less useful than asking:

“What is my total estimated cost for CPT 33285, including the monitor and insertion?”

Why the Facility Matters

Where the monitor is inserted can make an unusually large difference in cost because LINQ implantation is a relatively minor procedure that may be performed in several settings.

For 2026, Medicare’s national reimbursement data illustrates the gap:

• Physician office: about $4,016
• Ambulatory surgery center: about $7,176 facility payment
• Hospital outpatient department: about $8,455 facility payment

A physician working in the hospital or ASC setting can also receive a separate professional payment.

The same type of monitor can therefore generate very different allowed amounts depending on where it is implanted.

This does not mean every patient should choose the cheapest setting. The appropriate site depends on the patient’s medical needs and the provider’s practice. It does mean that someone paying a large deductible or paying cash should ask whether medically appropriate office-based insertion is available.

What Is LINQ II?

Medtronic’s LINQ II is a small insertable cardiac monitor placed just beneath the skin. It continuously records a subcutaneous ECG and can automatically identify and store certain abnormal heart-rhythm events.

According to current manufacturer information about the LINQ II system, it can monitor a patient’s heart rhythm around the clock for up to 4.5 years under specified settings.

That distinguishes today’s LINQ II from the older Reveal LINQ device, which was designed for monitoring for up to approximately three years.

LINQ II can transmit information using Medtronic’s MyCareLink Heart mobile app or a compatible home communicator, allowing the healthcare team to review stored rhythm information remotely.

It is a diagnostic monitor. It does not pace the heart, shock dangerous rhythms, or otherwise treat an arrhythmia in the way a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator can.

Who Might Get One?

Medtronic lists LINQ II for patients with situations that put them at increased risk of arrhythmias and for people experiencing temporary symptoms such as fainting, dizziness, palpitations, or chest pain that may suggest an abnormal heart rhythm.

An implantable monitor can be particularly useful when symptoms happen too infrequently for a short external monitor to capture.

Mayo Clinic similarly explains that an implantable loop recorder may be considered for unexplained fainting, arrhythmias, or certain unexplained strokes when longer-term rhythm information is useful.

Which monitoring method is appropriate is a medical decision rather than simply a cost comparison.

What Happens During Insertion?

The implantation is much less extensive than pacemaker surgery.

Cleveland Clinic describes implantable loop recorder placement as an outpatient procedure that typically takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Local anesthetic is used to numb the chest, sometimes with mild sedation, and the monitor is inserted into a small pocket just beneath the skin.

Most patients go home the same day.

Because this is normally a short, minimally invasive procedure, the original assumption that every implantation requires thousands of dollars in operating-room and anesthesia charges should not be treated as universal.

Remote Monitoring Costs

The implantation bill is not necessarily the final cost of owning a LINQ monitor.

Remote review of the device’s stored rhythm information can be billed separately. CPT 93298 covers remote evaluation of a subcutaneous cardiac rhythm monitor over a period of up to 30 days.

For 2026, the national Medicare global reimbursement rate is approximately $103 per monitoring period.

If a provider billed 12 qualifying 30-day periods during a year at that benchmark, the reimbursement arithmetic would be:

$103 × 12 = approximately $1,236 per year.

That is not the amount every Medicare patient personally owes. It is a reimbursement benchmark. The patient’s portion depends on Medicare rules, supplemental coverage, deductibles, coinsurance, and where the service is billed.

Commercial plans can use different allowed amounts.

The important budgeting lesson is that remote monitoring can create recurring charges after implantation. Ask the cardiology office how frequently monitoring is billed and what your plan’s cost sharing will be.

LINQ Cost With Medicare

Medtronic states that insertable cardiac monitors are widely covered by Medicare and private insurers when coverage requirements are satisfied.

For Original Medicare, the amount a patient personally owes is not the full $4,016, $7,176, or $8,455 Medicare reimbursement benchmark. Patient responsibility is determined under Medicare’s Part B deductible and coinsurance rules and can also be affected by Medigap, Medicaid, or other secondary coverage.

The clinical indication and medical-necessity documentation still matter.

Ask the cardiology practice for the planned billing code, which for new subcutaneous rhythm-monitor insertion is generally CPT 33285, and then ask Medicare or your Medicare Advantage plan what your expected responsibility would be.

Private Insurance

Private insurers commonly cover implantable cardiac monitors when plan criteria for medical necessity are met, but coverage policies differ.

Your final bill may depend on:

• Whether the cardiologist is in-network
• Whether the facility is in-network
• Your remaining deductible
• Coinsurance or copayment
• Prior-authorization requirements
• The site of service
• Whether remote monitoring is billed separately

Do not assume that “covered” means free.

A patient who has not met a large deductible could owe substantially more than someone receiving exactly the same monitor later in the year after reaching their plan’s out-of-pocket maximum.

Hidden LINQ Costs

The most important additional costs are not luxury hospital extras. They are related services that may sit outside the initial implantation price.

Cardiology consultation: The evaluation leading to the decision to implant a monitor can be billed separately.

Prior diagnostic testing: ECGs, echocardiograms, external monitoring, imaging, or other testing may occur before the LINQ decision.

Remote monitoring: Device data review can create recurring charges throughout the monitoring period.

In-person device evaluation: Some patients may also have separately billable device checks or cardiology visits.

Removal: The monitor may eventually be removed when its battery is depleted or monitoring is no longer needed. Medicare’s 2026 national hospital outpatient benchmark for removal under CPT 33286 is approximately $723, while actual patient and commercial prices can differ.

Those categories explain why the “lifetime cost” of LINQ monitoring should not be represented by one implantation number.

How to Get the Real Price

Start by asking the cardiology office for the expected billing code. For a new insertable cardiac rhythm monitor, that will commonly be CPT 33285.

Then ask for:

• The expected facility or office charge
• The physician charge
• Confirmation that the monitor itself is included
• Your insurer’s negotiated allowed amount
• Your deductible and coinsurance
• Any prior-authorization requirement
• The expected monthly remote-monitoring charge
• The expected cost of eventual device removal

For someone who is uninsured or intentionally paying without insurance, federal rules generally provide a right to request a written Good Faith Estimate before scheduled care.

If the final bill from a provider or facility is at least $400 above that provider’s Good Faith Estimate, the patient may qualify for the federal patient-provider dispute process.

That is much more useful than trying to budget from a hospital’s gross chargemaster price.

LINQ vs External Monitors

A LINQ monitor is not simply an expensive replacement for a Holter monitor. The devices answer somewhat different diagnostic needs.

A Holter or patch monitor records for a relatively short period without implantation. An insertable monitor can watch for uncommon events over years.

ThePricer has separate guides covering the cost of a heart event monitor and a Holter monitor test.

A pacemaker belongs in a different category altogether. A pacemaker provides therapy by sending electrical impulses when needed, while LINQ records rhythm data without pacing the heart. Readers researching major cardiac treatment costs can also see our guide to the cost of a heart transplant.

MRI, Travel, and Daily Life

Current LINQ II systems are MR Conditional rather than simply “MRI proof.”

Medtronic states that LINQ II can undergo MRI scanning under specified conditions using systems up to 3 Tesla. Patients should always tell the imaging facility that they have an implanted monitor so staff can confirm the applicable MRI conditions.

For normal travel, Medtronic says airport security screening does not affect its LINQ insertable heart monitors. Patients can still carry their device identification information when traveling.

After the insertion site heals, the monitor is designed for long-term daily use without external wires or adhesive patches.

Risks

Although insertion is relatively minor, it is still an implanted medical-device procedure.

Medtronic lists possible adverse events including local tissue reaction or rejection, device migration, infection, and erosion through the skin. Mayo Clinic also identifies bleeding and infection as possible complications.

The decision to use an insertable cardiac monitor should therefore be based on whether long-term rhythm monitoring is clinically useful, not merely on whether a cheaper implantation quote is available.

What We Verified

Answers to Common Questions

How much should I budget for a LINQ implant without insurance?

Current hospital transparency data suggests using approximately $6,000 to $14,000 as a useful comparison band, with a national published hospital cash median near $9,254. Individual quotes can fall outside that range.

How long does a Medtronic LINQ II last?

Medtronic says LINQ II can provide heart monitoring for up to 4.5 years under specified operating settings. The older Reveal LINQ was generally associated with up to three years of monitoring.

Does insurance cover LINQ II?

Medicare and many private insurers cover insertable cardiac monitors when their coverage and medical-necessity requirements are met. Your actual cost depends on the plan, deductible, coinsurance, network, and site of service.

Are there monthly fees after getting a LINQ monitor?

There can be. Remote device interrogation and analysis may be billed in separate monitoring periods. Ask the cardiology practice how it bills CPT 93298 and what your insurer expects you to pay.

Is LINQ II a pacemaker?

No. LINQ II is a diagnostic cardiac monitor. It records heart rhythm information but does not deliver pacing or shocks to correct abnormal rhythms.