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Procedure price report · Other diagnostic procedures on skin and subcutaneous tissue

Needle biopsy of a lump without imaging, first lump

CPT 10021the billing code this page is about

Uses a thin needle to draw a sample of cells from a lump the doctor can feel, without imaging to guide the needle; covers the first lump sampled.

Hospitals typically charge $383 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,348 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $400. Most fall between $180 and $746 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,348
States
50
Filings dated
Dec 2022 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 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 2,348 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
$121$205$383$636$1,134

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.4× what the cheapest tenth charges ($121 vs $1,134).

How the prices are spread

$86 – $115: 98 hospitals$86$115 – $154: 149 hospitals$154 – $206: 227 hospitals$154$206 – $277: 276 hospitals$277 – $371: 261 hospitals$277$371 – $498: 363 hospitals$498 – $668: 299 hospitals$498$668 – $896: 197 hospitals$896 – $1,202: 165 hospitals$896$1,202 – $1,613: 96 hospitals$1,202median $383price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,131 of 2,348 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$86$11598
$115$154149
$154$206227
$206$277276
$277$371261
$371$498363
$498$668299
$668$896197
$896$1,202165
$1,202$1,61396

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$415
Median cash price$383
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.92×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $383.

Alaska: median $457 across 16 hospitalsAK$457Maine: median $209 across 22 hospitalsME$209Vermont: median $216 across 11 hospitalsVT$216New Hampshire: median $147 across 17 hospitalsNH$147Washington: median $350 across 72 hospitalsWA$350Idaho: median $254 across 20 hospitalsID$254Montana: median $169 across 22 hospitalsMT$169North Dakota: median $309 across 14 hospitalsND$309Minnesota: median $257 across 81 hospitalsMN$257Illinois: median $373 across 97 hospitalsIL$373Wisconsin: median $319 across 89 hospitalsWI$319Michigan: median $394 across 77 hospitalsMI$394New York: median $473 across 88 hospitalsNY$473Massachusetts: median $439 across 40 hospitalsMA$439Oregon: median $218 across 47 hospitalsOR$218Nevada: median $337 across 12 hospitalsNV$337Wyoming: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $281 across 17 hospitalsSD$281Iowa: median $204 across 59 hospitalsIA$204Indiana: median $214 across 44 hospitalsIN$214Ohio: median $643 across 118 hospitalsOH$643Pennsylvania: median $501 across 108 hospitalsPA$501New Jersey: median $532 across 56 hospitalsNJ$532Connecticut: median $296 across 17 hospitalsCT$296Rhode Island: median $421 across 10 hospitalsRI$421California: median $628 across 151 hospitalsCA$628Utah: median $410 across 30 hospitalsUT$410Colorado: median $486 across 50 hospitalsCO$486Nebraska: median $239 across 55 hospitalsNE$239Missouri: median $308 across 57 hospitalsMO$308Kentucky: median $268 across 33 hospitalsKY$268West Virginia: median $403 across 35 hospitalsWV$403Virginia: median $407 across 48 hospitalsVA$407Maryland: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $455 across 37 hospitalsAZ$455New Mexico: median $356 across 21 hospitalsNM$356Kansas: median $209 across 45 hospitalsKS$209Arkansas: median $244 across 18 hospitalsAR$244Tennessee: median $195 across 42 hospitalsTN$195North Carolina: median $397 across 65 hospitalsNC$397South Carolina: median $383 across 41 hospitalsSC$383Oklahoma: median $247 across 44 hospitalsOK$247Louisiana: median $333 across 41 hospitalsLA$333Mississippi: median $180 across 43 hospitalsMS$180Alabama: median $488 across 21 hospitalsAL$488Georgia: median $591 across 64 hospitalsGA$591Hawaii: median $571 across 15 hospitalsHI$571Texas: median $548 across 139 hospitalsTX$548Florida: median $606 across 78 hospitalsFL$606
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $383. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Ohio OH118$643+68%$356 – $1,099
California CA151$628+64%$310 – $1,368
Florida FL78$606+58%$354 – $1,107
Georgia GA64$591+54%$280 – $1,057
Hawaii HI15$571+49%$113 – $1,118
Texas TX139$548+43%$237 – $834
New Jersey NJ56$532+39%$442 – $3,986
Pennsylvania PA108$501+31%$220 – $1,135
Alabama AL21$488+27%$186 – $818
Colorado CO50$486+27%$188 – $698
New York NY88$473+23%$157 – $922
Alaska AK16$457+19%$263 – $1,026
Arizona AZ37$455+19%$313 – $1,633
Massachusetts MA40$439+15%$221 – $728
Rhode Island RI10$421+10%$246 – $538
Utah UT30$410+7%$328 – $545
Virginia VA48$407+6%$176 – $534
West Virginia WV35$403+5%$176 – $737
North Carolina NC65$397+4%$215 – $434
Michigan MI77$394+3%$99 – $609
South Carolina SC41$3830%$273 – $731
Illinois IL97$373−3%$183 – $834
New Mexico NM21$356−7%$243 – $872
Washington WA72$350−8%$185 – $558
Nevada NV12$337−12%$152 – $442
Louisiana LA41$333−13%$133 – $589
Wisconsin WI89$319−17%$199 – $404
North Dakota ND14$309−19%$115 – $604
Missouri MO57$308−20%$198 – $746
Connecticut CT17$296−23%$179 – $629
South Dakota SD17$281−27%$240 – $550
Kentucky KY33$268−30%$142 – $464
Minnesota MN81$257−33%$156 – $367
Idaho ID20$254−34%$123 – $1,117
Oklahoma OK44$247−35%$153 – $466
Arkansas AR18$244−36%$175 – $648
Nebraska NE55$239−38%$179 – $317
Oregon OR47$218−43%$149 – $515
Vermont VT11$216−43%$86 – $582
Indiana IN44$214−44%$139 – $544
Kansas KS45$209−45%$125 – $415
Maine ME22$209−45%$160 – $342
Iowa IA59$204−47%$112 – $387
Tennessee TN42$195−49%$134 – $344
Mississippi MS43$180−53%$104 – $476
Montana MT22$169−56%$82 – $386
New Hampshire NH17$147−61%$85 – $268
Wyoming WY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE4not 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 $383.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,683$427$209 – $849
Children’s55$548$254 – $1,759
Critical access604$240$137 – $470
Ownership
For-profit215$448$195 – $1,107
Government439$317$149 – $560
Non-profit1,688$393$187 – $746
System affiliation
Part of a system1,870$404$192 – $785
Independent478$301$144 – $604

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$636
Median cash price$383
Cash as a share of list, median hospital62%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 38%. 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

1,711 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $415 and the average of the middle 60% is $444; most fall between $199 and $834.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,711 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
$142$225$415$723$1,147

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.1× what the cheapest tenth charges ($142 vs $1,147).

Of the 1,835 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,711 gave a usable cash price; 47 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 77 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,348 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (59%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,519 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,348
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here85
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded85
Hospitals that filed this code2,519

Sections not shown for this setting

  • 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 July 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Other diagnostic procedures on skin and subcutaneous tissue family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Fine Needle Aspiration Bx W/O Img Gdn 1st Lesion.

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, “Needle biopsy of a lump without imaging, first lump (CPT 10021) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-10021-needle-biopsy-of-a-lump-without-imaging-first-lump