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Procedure price report · Pathology

Spinal fluid test for prion protein

CPT 0035Uthe billing code this page is about

A laboratory test on cerebrospinal fluid that reports whether abnormal prion protein is detected, used in the evaluation of rapidly progressive brain disease.

Hospitals typically charge $500 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 766 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $561. Most fall between $306 and $1,048 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
766
States
47
Filings dated
Jun 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 25, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 766 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$198$333$500$898$1,217

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.2× what the cheapest tenth charges ($198 vs $1,217).

How the prices are spread

$131 – $169: 23 hospitals$131$169 – $217: 50 hospitals$217 – $280: 27 hospitals$217$280 – $362: 100 hospitals$362 – $466: 107 hospitals$362$466 – $601: 113 hospitals$601 – $776: 89 hospitals$601$776 – $1,000: 50 hospitals$1,000 – $1,290: 106 hospitals$1,000$1,290 – $1,664: 31 hospitals$1,290median $500price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (696 of 766 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$131$16923
$169$21750
$217$28027
$280$362100
$362$466107
$466$601113
$601$77689
$776$1,00050
$1,000$1,290106
$1,290$1,66431

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $500.

Alaska: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceAKMaine: median $574 across 11 hospitalsME$574Vermont: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVTNew Hampshire: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $306 across 18 hospitalsWA$306Idaho: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $560 across 19 hospitalsMN$560Illinois: median $845 across 34 hospitalsIL$845Wisconsin: median $750 across 33 hospitalsWI$750Michigan: median $333 across 16 hospitalsMI$333New York: median $568 across 22 hospitalsNY$568Massachusetts: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $671 across 12 hospitalsOR$671Nevada: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $519 across 14 hospitalsIA$519Indiana: median $469 across 31 hospitalsIN$469Ohio: median $479 across 35 hospitalsOH$479Pennsylvania: median $811 across 42 hospitalsPA$811New Jersey: median $595 across 18 hospitalsNJ$595Connecticut: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $140 across 24 hospitalsCA$140Utah: median $1,099 across 26 hospitalsUT$1,099Colorado: median $744 across 17 hospitalsCO$744Nebraska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $313 across 17 hospitalsMO$313Kentucky: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $202 across 19 hospitalsWV$202Virginia: median $469 across 18 hospitalsVA$469Maryland: median $500 across 20 hospitalsMD$500Delaware: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $354 across 20 hospitalsAZ$354New Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: median $198 across 11 hospitalsAR$198Tennessee: median $358 across 25 hospitalsTN$358North Carolina: median $1,137 across 39 hospitalsNC$1,137South Carolina: median $441 across 21 hospitalsSC$441Oklahoma: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOKLouisiana: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $456 across 31 hospitalsGA$456Hawaii: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $424 across 69 hospitalsTX$424Florida: median $126 across 18 hospitalsFL$126
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $500. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
North Carolina NC39$1,137+127%$333 – $1,217
Utah UT26$1,099+120%$1,099 – $1,099
Illinois IL34$845+69%$447 – $1,050
Pennsylvania PA42$811+62%$357 – $2,250
Wisconsin WI33$750+50%$625 – $898
Colorado CO17$744+49%$645 – $1,026
Oregon OR12$671+34%$369 – $717
New Jersey NJ18$595+19%$595 – $1,420
Maine ME11$574+15%$284 – $964
New York NY22$568+14%$176 – $1,689
Minnesota MN19$560+12%$543 – $560
Iowa IA14$519+4%$519 – $519
Maryland MD20$5000%$345 – $629
Ohio OH35$479−4%$440 – $1,506
Indiana IN31$469−6%$377 – $664
Virginia VA18$469−6%$338 – $776
Georgia GA31$456−9%$433 – $684
South Carolina SC21$441−12%$441 – $716
Texas TX69$424−15%$202 – $1,014
Tennessee TN25$358−28%$312 – $469
Arizona AZ20$354−29%$278 – $532
Michigan MI16$333−33%$333 – $836
Missouri MO17$313−37%$205 – $712
Washington WA18$306−39%$214 – $755
West Virginia WV19$202−60%$202 – $323
Arkansas AR11$198−60%$182 – $198
California CA24$140−72%$107 – $303
Florida FL18$126−75%$47 – $126
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oklahoma OK6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $500.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care646$479$308 – $1,014
Children’s4fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access114$625$241 – $1,092
Ownership
For-profit62$500$317 – $1,066
Government81$599$325 – $1,121
Non-profit621$499$304 – $1,014
System affiliation
Part of a system715$488$304 – $1,014
Independent51$681$344 – $1,217

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,193
Median cash price$500
Cash as a share of list, median hospital60%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 40%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

580 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $510 and the average of the middle 60% is $568; most fall between $326 and $1,045.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 580 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$197$344$510$909$1,196

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.1× what the cheapest tenth charges ($197 vs $1,196).

Of the 616 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 580 gave a usable cash price; 4 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 32 a list price only.

How complete is this

766 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (19%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 801 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted766
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here5
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded30
Hospitals that filed this code801

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 25, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 25, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Pathology family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as HC Neuro CSF Detcj Prion Prtn Quakg Conf Conv Qual.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Spinal fluid test for prion protein (CPT 0035U) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-0035u-spinal-fluid-test-for-prion-protein