CPT 78481 · 910 hospitals reporting

Nm first pass

The same procedure costs $79.8 at one hospital and $17,733 at another — a 222× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $844.

Cheapest published

$79.8

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

Median across 910 hospitals

$844

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

Most expensive

$17,733

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

Price distribution

227 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
ST ELIZABETH HOSPITAL	WA	$2,776	$844	$1,999	$2,082	2 insurers
ST ELIZABETH HOSPITAL	WA	$2,776	$844	$610	$2,684	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	ID	$2,399	$840	$1,080	$2,399	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	ID	$2,399	$840	$160	$3,268	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S THE WOODLANDS HOSPITAL	TX	$2,399	$840	$1,032	$2,399	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S THE WOODLANDS HOSPITAL	TX	$2,399	$840	$167	$2,827	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S SUGAR LAND HOSPITAL	TX	$2,399	$840	$1,032	$2,399	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S SUGAR LAND HOSPITAL	TX	$2,399	$840	$167	$2,827	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL AT THE VINTAGE	TX	$2,399	$840	$1,032	$2,399	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL AT THE VINTAGE	TX	$2,399	$840	$167	$2,827	5 insurers
TWIN CITY MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$1,176	$823	$459	$1,070	5 insurers
VIRGINIA MASON MEDICAL CENTER	WA	$1,698	$866	—	—	4 insurers
MAUI MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER	HI	$2,235	$872	—	—	2 insurers
FORT DUNCAN MEDICAL CENTER	TX	$2,020	$808	—	—	5 insurers
ST CLARE HOSPITAL	WA	$2,776	$800	$1,999	$2,082	2 insurers
ST CLARE HOSPITAL	WA	$2,776	$800	$610	$2,684	5 insurers
CAPE FEAR VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$1,317	$790	—	—	5 insurers
BETSY JOHNSON REGIONAL HOSPITAL	NC	$1,317	$790	—	—	5 insurers
SURGICAL INSTITUTE OF READING	PA	—	$783	$61	$489	2 insurers
NORTHRIDGE HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$2,800	$781	$2,240	$2,436	2 insurers
NORTHRIDGE HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$2,800	$781	$227	$2,800	5 insurers
LIBERTY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	GA	$1,030	$773	—	—	5 insurers
MERCY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$1,324	$927	$231	$1,324	5 insurers
TWIN COUNTY REGIONAL HOSPITAL	VA	$1,893	$757	—	—	0 insurers
Baylor St Lukes Medical Center	TX	$2,666	$933	$154	$2,934	5 insurers
CHI ST LUKES LAKESIDE HOSPITAL	TX	$2,666	$933	$169	$2,538	5 insurers
LAKEWOOD HEALTH CENTER	MN	$1,279	$957	—	—	5 insurers
ANIMAS SURGICAL HOSPITAL, LLC	CO	—	$962	$0	$962	2 insurers
USA HEALTH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	AL	$2,713	$706	—	—	5 insurers
THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	NJ	$2,713	$706	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM, INC	TN	$2,713	$706	—	—	5 insurers
GARDEN GROVE HOSPITAL & MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$1,751	$694	$170	$1,751	5 insurers
WEST ANAHEIM MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$1,751	$694	$170	$1,751	5 insurers
LA PALMA INTERCOMMUNITY HOSPITAL	CA	$1,751	$694	$170	$1,751	5 insurers
CENTINELA HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$1,455	$694	$170	$1,455	5 insurers
SHASTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$220	$694	$35.86	$220	5 insurers
BELL HOSPITAL	MI	$1,155	$693	—	—	0 insurers
MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER OF FLORIDA, INC	FL	$1,000	$1,000	—	—	5 insurers
MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER OF FLORIDA, INC	FL	$1,000	$1,000	—	—	5 insurers
MONTEFIORE ST LUKE'S CORNWALL	NY	—	$678	—	—	5 insurers