CPT 31628 · 1,212 hospitals reporting

Biopsy of lobe of lung using an endoscope; 1 lobe

The same procedure costs $139 at one hospital and $49,264 at another — a 355× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $2,813.

Cheapest published

$139

3 entries below $50 already filtered. Remaining low values usually reflect partial-cost line items (professional fee only), not full bills.

Median across 1,212 hospitals

$2,813

The realistic middle of the cash-price distribution. Use this as your benchmark.

Most expensive

$49,264

Highest published price. Often a gross-charge "list price" rarely actually paid.

Price distribution

458 hospitals · log-scale x-axis

Each bar = number of hospitals charging in that price range. Emerald bar contains the median. Amber dots = entries we flagged as likely partial-cost line items (excluded from the table below).

Filter by state

Filter by your insurance

Sort

Why some prices look unrealistically low or high

Hospitals publish their machine-readable files (MRFs) the way they choose. A single procedure code can appear with very different prices depending on what's being charged:

Global price — facility + implant + anesthesia + surgeon. This is what you'd actually be billed.
Professional fee only — surgeon's portion. Often $500–$2,500 for a major procedure that costs $20K+ globally.
Facility fee only — operating room and recovery, no implant or surgeon.
Per-unit / per-minute charges — e.g. anesthesia time billed at $0.68/min appearing under a CPT code.
Rate multipliers — values like 0.85 meaning "85% of Medicare" rather than dollars.

We filter the most obvious artifacts (under $50, or 25× above the median), but rows in the $500–$2K range for a major procedure are typically professional-only and we can't always tell. Use the median and high-end as the realistic range; treat very low rows as partial-cost line items, not full bills.

500 hospitals reporting

Hospital	State	Gross	Cash price	Min negotiated	Max negotiated	Your insurer
TRI-CITY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$4,688	$2,813	—	—	0 insurers
TRI-CITY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$4,688	$2,813	—	—	5 insurers
SAINT JOSEPH LONDON	KY	$7,909	$2,822	$7,197	$7,197	1 insurers
SAINT JOSEPH LONDON	KY	$7,909	$2,822	$1,129	$7,197	5 insurers
SOUTHEAST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$6,941	$2,776	—	—	5 insurers
CAPE FEAR VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$4,622	$2,773	—	—	2 insurers
CAPE FEAR VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$4,622	$2,773	—	—	5 insurers
BETSY JOHNSON REGIONAL HOSPITAL	NC	$4,622	$2,773	—	—	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH SCHUYLER	NE	$3,218	$2,735	$2,904	$3,154	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH SCHUYLER	NE	$3,218	$2,735	$689	$3,643	5 insurers
UCHEALTH GREELEY HOSPITAL	CO	$4,552	$2,731	—	—	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH PLAINVIEW HOSPITAL	NE	$3,218	$2,703	$2,904	$3,154	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH PLAINVIEW HOSPITAL	NE	$3,218	$2,703	$1,963	$4,358	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS PORTAGE MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$3,571	$2,678	—	—	1 insurers
FAIRVIEW LAKES HEALTH SERVICES	MN	$7,351	$2,948	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW SOUTHDALE HOSPITAL	MN	$7,351	$2,948	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW UNIVERSITY OF MN MEDICAL CENTER	MN	$7,351	$2,948	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW ST JOHN'S HOSPITAL	MN	$7,351	$2,948	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW WOODWINDS HOSPITAL	MN	$7,351	$2,948	—	—	5 insurers
FAIRVIEW NORTHLAND REGIONAL HOSPITAL	MN	$7,360	$2,951	—	—	5 insurers
UNITED HOSPITAL CENTER, INC	WV	$5,333	$2,667	—	—	5 insurers
SISTERSVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL	WV	$5,333	$2,667	—	—	5 insurers
SUMMERSVILLE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	WV	$5,333	$2,667	—	—	5 insurers
AIKEN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	SC	$7,461	$2,984	—	—	5 insurers
SWEETWATER HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION	TN	$7,461	$2,984	—	—	5 insurers
MISSOURI DELTA MEDICAL CENTER	MO	$10,534	$2,634	—	—	5 insurers
MARY BRIDGE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	WA	$7,498	$2,999	—	—	1 insurers
COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	WI	$5,476	$3,012	—	—	3 insurers
FROEDTERT MEMORIAL LUTHERAN HOSPITAL	WI	$5,476	$3,012	—	—	3 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CENTER	MS	$6,500	$2,600	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER- GRENADA	MS	$6,500	$2,600	—	—	5 insurers
NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH	CO	$4,326	$3,028	—	—	5 insurers
SAINT JOSEPH MOUNT STERLING	KY	$8,304	$3,043	$7,557	$7,557	1 insurers
SAINT JOSEPH MOUNT STERLING	KY	$8,304	$3,043	$1,698	$7,557	5 insurers
YALE-NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL	CT	$4,352	$2,568	—	—	5 insurers
CHEYENNE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	WY	$4,400	$3,080	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTHWEST HEALTHCARE RANCHO SPRINGS HOSPITAL	CA	$7,759	$3,104	—	—	5 insurers
COLQUITT REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	GA	$3,124	$3,124	—	—	5 insurers
JACKSON COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AUTHORITY	OK	$3,124	$3,124	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW RIDGES HOSPITAL	MN	$7,351	$3,124	—	—	5 insurers