CPT 38500 · 1,291 hospitals reporting

Biopsy or removal of lymph nodes

The same procedure costs $166 at one hospital and $51,805 at another — a 312× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $2,618.

Cheapest published

$166

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

Median across 1,291 hospitals

$2,618

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

Most expensive

$51,805

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

Price distribution

455 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).

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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
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - PANORAMA CITY	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - LOS ANGELES	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - DOWNEY	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL FONTANA/ONTARIO	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SAN DIEGO	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - WEST LA	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - WOODLAND HILLS	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL, RIVERSIDE	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - BALDWIN PARK	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL-MORENO VALLEY	CA	$7,479	$2,618	$3,179	$8,592	3 insurers
MULTICARE VALLEY HOSPITAL	WA	$6,476	$2,590	—	—	1 insurers
MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER	NM	$4,462	$2,677	—	—	1 insurers
CARLE RICHLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	IL	$2,541	$2,541	—	—	4 insurers
ST LUKES HOSPITAL	MN	$4,492	$2,515	—	—	5 insurers
KEEFE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	CO	$3,894	$2,726	—	—	0 insurers
RIVERSIDE MEDICAL CENTER	IL	$10,450	$2,782	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTHEAST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$6,128	$2,451	—	—	5 insurers
MEDICAL WEST, AN AFFILIATE OF UAB HEALTH SYSTEM	AL	$9,799	$2,450	—	—	5 insurers
SPECIALISTS HOSPITAL SHREVEPORT	LA	$2,401	$2,401	$335	$4,637	5 insurers
TERREBONNE GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER - PARISH	LA	$2,834	$2,834	$181	$2,834	5 insurers
PHYSICIANS MEDICAL CENTER	LA	$2,834	$2,834	$181	$2,834	5 insurers
SPRINGHILL MEDICAL CENTER	LA	$8,489	$2,886	—	—	5 insurers
WARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	TX	$4,163	$2,914	—	—	0 insurers
WILLAPA HARBOR HOSPITAL	WA	$3,315	$2,321	—	—	1 insurers
MOUNTAIN VIEW HOSPITAL	ID	$3,296	$2,307	$2,472	$7,268	5 insurers
IDAHO FALLS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, LLC	ID	$3,296	$2,307	$2,472	$7,744	4 insurers
SALINE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	AR	$7,643	$2,293	—	—	1 insurers
JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM	FL	$19,243	$2,992	$3,230	$3,230	1 insurers
UNITY HOSPITAL	NY	$3,745	$2,996	—	—	1 insurers
UNITY MEDICAL CENTER	TN	$3,745	$2,996	—	—	1 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CENTER	MS	$7,574	$3,030	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER- GRENADA	MS	$7,574	$3,030	—	—	5 insurers
JAMAICA HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	NY	$3,056	$3,056	—	—	5 insurers
University of Arkansas Medical Sciences	AR	$5,111	$3,067	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTH COUNTY HOSPITAL INC	RI	$3,614	$2,168	—	—	3 insurers
BAPTIST HEALTH - FORT SMITH	AR	$12,371	$3,093	—	—	5 insurers
WILLS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	GA	$4,135	$3,101	—	—	0 insurers
FAULKTON AREA MEDICAL CENTER	SD	$2,640	$2,112	—	—	0 insurers
FAULKTON AREA MEDICAL CENTER	SD	$2,640	$2,112	—	—	0 insurers
PRINCETON BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$6,303	$3,151	—	—	5 insurers