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Procedure price report · Traction, splints, and other wound care

Applying a halo head brace, including removal

CPT 20661the billing code this page is about

Attachment of a halo ring to the skull with pins to immobilize the head and neck, including taking the device off later.

Hospitals typically charge $1,590 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 445 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,655. Most fall between $805 and $2,950 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
445
States
47
Filings dated
Jun 2024 – 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 445 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
$538$898$1,590$2,623$4,977

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.2× what the cheapest tenth charges ($538 vs $4,977).

How the prices are spread

$343 – $460: 15 hospitals$343$460 – $617: 19 hospitals$617 – $828: 39 hospitals$617$828 – $1,112: 69 hospitals$1,112 – $1,492: 57 hospitals$1,112$1,492 – $2,003: 50 hospitals$2,003 – $2,688: 77 hospitals$2,003$2,688 – $3,608: 28 hospitals$3,608 – $4,843: 25 hospitals$3,608$4,843 – $6,500: 25 hospitals$4,843median $1,590price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (404 of 445 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$343$46015
$460$61719
$617$82839
$828$1,11269
$1,112$1,49257
$1,492$2,00350
$2,003$2,68877
$2,688$3,60828
$3,608$4,84325
$4,843$6,50025

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,643
Median cash price$1,590
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.97×

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 $1,590.

Alaska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,137 across 18 hospitalsWA$1,137Idaho: 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: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $1,487 across 29 hospitalsIL$1,487Wisconsin: median $2,623 across 27 hospitalsWI$2,623Michigan: median $1,428 across 18 hospitalsMI$1,428New York: median $1,643 across 20 hospitalsNY$1,643Massachusetts: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $1,619 across 23 hospitalsOR$1,619Nevada: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,202 across 14 hospitalsIA$1,202Indiana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $1,026 across 30 hospitalsOH$1,026Pennsylvania: median $380 across 16 hospitalsPA$380New Jersey: median $5,339 across 18 hospitalsNJ$5,339Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,264 across 23 hospitalsCA$1,264Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: median $720 across 14 hospitalsCO$720Nebraska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $995 across 20 hospitalsMO$995Kentucky: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: median $1,191 across 12 hospitalsNC$1,191South Carolina: median $5,273 across 12 hospitalsSC$5,273Oklahoma: median $859 across 11 hospitalsOK$859Louisiana: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $3,259 across 12 hospitalsGA$3,259Hawaii: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $963 across 17 hospitalsTX$963Florida: median $2,298 across 16 hospitalsFL$2,298
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,590. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ18$5,339+236%$3,986 – $9,281
South Carolina SC12$5,273+232%$4,056 – $5,273
Georgia GA12$3,259+105%$3,259 – $3,259
Wisconsin WI27$2,623+65%$2,426 – $2,950
Florida FL16$2,298+45%$1,368 – $2,298
New York NY20$1,643+3%$929 – $2,007
Oregon OR23$1,619+2%$968 – $1,700
Illinois IL29$1,487−6%$523 – $2,385
Michigan MI18$1,428−10%$906 – $2,623
California CA23$1,264−21%$1,011 – $1,933
Iowa IA14$1,202−24%$1,202 – $1,202
North Carolina NC12$1,191−25%$664 – $2,306
Washington WA18$1,137−29%$968 – $1,179
Ohio OH30$1,026−35%$770 – $2,315
Missouri MO20$995−37%$689 – $1,412
Texas TX17$963−39%$132 – $2,563
Oklahoma OK11$859−46%$859 – $859
Colorado CO14$720−55%$343 – $1,014
Pennsylvania PA16$380−76%$322 – $4,252
Louisiana LA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not 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 $1,590.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care361$1,487$770 – $3,259
Children’s17fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access66$2,056$959 – $2,932
Ownership
For-profit37$2,298$664 – $4,056
Government49$1,326$759 – $2,833
Non-profit358$1,557$853 – $2,730
System affiliation
Part of a system386$1,619$857 – $2,950
Independent59$1,216$727 – $2,833

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,104
Median cash price$1,590
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. 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

330 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,264 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,556; most fall between $791 and $2,646.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 330 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
$538$859$1,264$2,600$4,436

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.2× what the cheapest tenth charges ($538 vs $4,436).

Of the 346 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 330 gave a usable cash price; 14 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 2 a list price only.

How complete is this

445 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (11%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 480 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted445
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here23
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded11
Hospitals that filed this code480

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 September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 23, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Traction, splints, and other wound care family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Application Halo Cranial Including Removal.

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, “Applying a halo head brace, including removal (CPT 20661) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-20661-applying-a-halo-head-brace-including-removal