CPT 78630 · 1,160 hospitals reporting

Cerebrospinal fluid scan

The same procedure costs $57.05 at one hospital and $16,303 at another — a 286× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $1,071.

Cheapest published

$57.05

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

Median across 1,160 hospitals

$1,071

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

Most expensive

$16,303

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

Price distribution

500 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
CHI ST ALEXIUS HEALTH DICKINSON	ND	$1,700	$1,071	$1,190	$1,649	5 insurers
CHI ST ALEXIUS HEALTH DICKINSON	ND	$1,700	$1,071	$714	$1,649	5 insurers
COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	WI	$1,950	$1,073	—	—	5 insurers
FROEDTERT MEMORIAL LUTHERAN HOSPITAL	WI	$1,950	$1,073	—	—	5 insurers
BRIDGEPORT HOSPITAL	CT	$2,091	$1,066	—	—	5 insurers
FLUSHING HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	NY	$1,056	$1,056	—	—	5 insurers
GREENWICH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION -	CT	$2,091	$1,087	—	—	5 insurers
CHI ST LUKES HEALTH MEMORIAL LUFKIN	TX	$3,006	$1,052	$63	$2,705	5 insurers
CHI ST LUKES HEALTH MEMORIAL LIVINGSTON	TX	$3,006	$1,052	$63	$2,705	5 insurers
BOZEMAN HEALTH DEACONESS HOSPITAL	MT	$1,313	$1,050	$292	$1,313	5 insurers
BOZEMAN HEALTH BIG SKY MEDICAL CENTER	MT	$1,313	$1,050	$292	$1,313	5 insurers
MOUNTAIN VIEW HOSPITAL	ID	$1,500	$1,050	$868	$1,393	5 insurers
IDAHO FALLS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, LLC	ID	$1,500	$1,050	$437	$1,350	4 insurers
SILVER CROSS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTERS	IL	$2,877	$1,099	$1,726	$2,273	3 insurers
SILVER CROSS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTERS	IL	$2,877	$1,099	$322	$2,877	5 insurers
METHODIST HOSPITALS INC	IN	$1,488	$1,042	$495	$1,280	5 insurers
MERCY MEDICAL CENTER	OR	$2,084	$1,111	$1,563	$1,980	5 insurers
MERCY MEDICAL CENTER	OR	$2,084	$1,111	$458	$2,143	5 insurers
WAYNE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	PA	$1,283	$1,027	$468	$1,027	5 insurers
MARSHALL MEDICAL CENTERS	AL	$1,017	$1,017	—	—	5 insurers
MARSHALL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$1,017	$1,017	—	—	5 insurers
MARSHALL MEDICAL CENTER	TN	$1,017	$1,017	—	—	5 insurers
NOVANT HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$2,029	$1,015	$268	$1,968	5 insurers
NOVANT HEALTH MATTHEWS MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$2,029	$1,015	$264	$1,968	5 insurers
NOVANT HEALTH HUNTERSVILLE MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$2,029	$1,015	$251	$1,968	5 insurers
NOVANT HEALTH MINT HILL MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$2,029	$1,015	$268	$1,968	5 insurers
NOVANT HEALTH BALLANTYNE MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$2,029	$1,015	$268	$1,968	5 insurers
NOVANT PRINCE WILLIAM MEDICAL CENTER	VA	$2,029	$1,015	$268	$1,968	5 insurers
TEXAS HEALTH HOSPITAL FRISCO	TX	$1,888	$1,133	—	—	1 insurers
CHI ST JOSEPH HEALTH REGIONAL HOSPITAL	TX	$3,243	$1,135	$325	$2,757	5 insurers
METHODIST HOSPITAL UNION COUNTY	KY	$1,545	$1,004	—	—	5 insurers
MARY GREELEY MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$2,332	$1,003	$1,632	$2,332	3 insurers
MARY GREELEY MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$2,332	$1,003	$218	$2,184	5 insurers
UNITYPOINT HEALTH - MARSHALLTOWN	IA	$1,426	$1,141	—	—	3 insurers
ALLEN HOSPITAL	IA	$1,426	$1,141	—	—	5 insurers
GRUNDY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	IA	$1,426	$1,141	—	—	5 insurers
CENTURA ST. CATHERINE-DODGE CITY	KS	$2,502	$1,001	—	—	5 insurers
DEACONESS HOSPITAL INC	IN	$1,250	$1,000	$303	$552	5 insurers
NOVANT HEALTH FORSYTH MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$1,907	$1,144	$268	$1,850	5 insurers
SAINT JOSEPH MOUNT STERLING	KY	$3,144	$1,152	$2,861	$2,861	1 insurers