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Procedure price report · Other diagnostic procedures on musculoskeletal system

Biopsy of soft tissue in the neck or chest wall

CPT 21550the billing code this page is about

Removal of a sample of soft tissue from the neck or chest wall for laboratory examination.

Hospitals typically charge $1,881 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,777 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,932. Most fall between $675 and $3,391 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,777
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 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 1,777 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
$372$917$1,881$3,089$4,697

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($372 vs $4,697).

How the prices are spread

$244 – $336: 71 hospitals$244$336 – $462: 73 hospitals$462 – $634: 101 hospitals$462$634 – $872: 100 hospitals$872 – $1,198: 126 hospitals$872$1,198 – $1,646: 216 hospitals$1,646 – $2,261: 296 hospitals$1,646$2,261 – $3,107: 269 hospitals$3,107 – $4,270: 194 hospitals$3,107$4,270 – $5,867: 158 hospitals$4,270median $1,881price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,604 of 1,777 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$244$33671
$336$46273
$462$634101
$634$872100
$872$1,198126
$1,198$1,646216
$1,646$2,261296
$2,261$3,107269
$3,107$4,270194
$4,270$5,867158

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,687
Median cash price$1,881
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.11×

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 $1,881.

Alaska: median $2,565 across 10 hospitalsAK$2,565Maine: median $797 across 12 hospitalsME$797Vermont: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $2,261 across 47 hospitalsWA$2,261Idaho: median $2,615 across 16 hospitalsID$2,615Montana: median $607 across 15 hospitalsMT$607North Dakota: median $1,664 across 10 hospitalsND$1,664Minnesota: median $1,092 across 45 hospitalsMN$1,092Illinois: median $1,940 across 81 hospitalsIL$1,940Wisconsin: median $1,367 across 65 hospitalsWI$1,367Michigan: median $1,479 across 69 hospitalsMI$1,479New York: median $1,917 across 68 hospitalsNY$1,917Massachusetts: median $2,360 across 28 hospitalsMA$2,360Oregon: median $575 across 40 hospitalsOR$575Nevada: median $1,428 across 12 hospitalsNV$1,428Wyoming: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $2,138 across 10 hospitalsSD$2,138Iowa: median $740 across 36 hospitalsIA$740Indiana: median $747 across 38 hospitalsIN$747Ohio: median $2,443 across 91 hospitalsOH$2,443Pennsylvania: median $1,904 across 81 hospitalsPA$1,904New Jersey: median $2,137 across 51 hospitalsNJ$2,137Connecticut: median $2,312 across 11 hospitalsCT$2,312Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $3,323 across 143 hospitalsCA$3,323Utah: median $1,429 across 27 hospitalsUT$1,429Colorado: median $2,595 across 35 hospitalsCO$2,595Nebraska: median $657 across 24 hospitalsNE$657Missouri: median $1,702 across 45 hospitalsMO$1,702Kentucky: median $1,875 across 23 hospitalsKY$1,875West Virginia: median $665 across 19 hospitalsWV$665Virginia: median $1,909 across 29 hospitalsVA$1,909Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $864 across 20 hospitalsAZ$864New Mexico: median $1,571 across 10 hospitalsNM$1,571Kansas: median $1,555 across 35 hospitalsKS$1,555Arkansas: median $2,002 across 13 hospitalsAR$2,002Tennessee: median $589 across 31 hospitalsTN$589North Carolina: median $1,577 across 46 hospitalsNC$1,577South Carolina: median $3,448 across 36 hospitalsSC$3,448Oklahoma: median $1,714 across 31 hospitalsOK$1,714Louisiana: median $1,341 across 33 hospitalsLA$1,341Mississippi: median $929 across 23 hospitalsMS$929Alabama: median $1,330 across 19 hospitalsAL$1,330Georgia: median $1,723 across 52 hospitalsGA$1,723Hawaii: median $1,657 across 13 hospitalsHI$1,657Texas: median $2,832 across 119 hospitalsTX$2,832Florida: median $2,447 across 75 hospitalsFL$2,447
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,881. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Carolina SC36$3,448+83%$3,019 – $4,376
California CA143$3,323+77%$1,568 – $5,867
Texas TX119$2,832+51%$1,631 – $4,387
Idaho ID16$2,615+39%$1,065 – $4,347
Colorado CO35$2,595+38%$643 – $3,856
Alaska AK10$2,565+36%$1,337 – $2,924
Florida FL75$2,447+30%$1,626 – $5,614
Ohio OH91$2,443+30%$1,631 – $3,428
Massachusetts MA28$2,360+25%$993 – $3,184
Connecticut CT11$2,312+23%$1,823 – $2,669
Washington WA47$2,261+20%$482 – $2,884
South Dakota SD10$2,138+14%$1,641 – $3,061
New Jersey NJ51$2,137+14%$1,793 – $5,368
Arkansas AR13$2,002+6%$805 – $2,965
Illinois IL81$1,940+3%$600 – $3,867
New York NY68$1,917+2%$455 – $3,038
Virginia VA29$1,909+1%$1,187 – $2,669
Pennsylvania PA81$1,904+1%$931 – $2,916
Kentucky KY23$1,8750%$255 – $2,861
Georgia GA52$1,723−8%$1,314 – $4,083
Oklahoma OK31$1,714−9%$917 – $3,185
Missouri MO45$1,702−9%$985 – $2,462
North Dakota ND10$1,664−12%$280 – $2,606
Hawaii HI13$1,657−12%$309 – $3,702
North Carolina NC46$1,577−16%$565 – $2,018
New Mexico NM10$1,571−16%$699 – $2,246
Kansas KS35$1,555−17%$352 – $2,519
Michigan MI69$1,479−21%$245 – $2,271
Utah UT27$1,429−24%$1,214 – $1,429
Nevada NV12$1,428−24%$830 – $2,143
Wisconsin WI65$1,367−27%$716 – $1,857
Louisiana LA33$1,341−29%$839 – $2,697
Alabama AL19$1,330−29%$469 – $4,639
Minnesota MN45$1,092−42%$408 – $1,735
Mississippi MS23$929−51%$338 – $1,316
Arizona AZ20$864−54%$672 – $2,740
Maine ME12$797−58%$436 – $1,016
Indiana IN38$747−60%$393 – $1,873
Iowa IA36$740−61%$363 – $2,845
West Virginia WV19$665−65%$160 – $3,249
Nebraska NE24$657−65%$437 – $2,200
Montana MT15$607−68%$205 – $1,145
Tennessee TN31$589−69%$329 – $2,065
Oregon OR40$575−69%$409 – $3,816
New Hampshire NH9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not 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 $1,881.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,444$2,018$967 – $3,678
Children’s31$2,001$714 – $3,232
Critical access294$761$326 – $2,005
Ownership
For-profit185$2,246$993 – $4,125
Government273$1,359$489 – $2,714
Non-profit1,311$1,915$733 – $3,428
System affiliation
Part of a system1,469$1,951$798 – $3,627
Independent308$1,337$377 – $2,762

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,415
Median cash price$1,881
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

1,318 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,018 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,117; most fall between $893 and $3,721.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,318 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
$469$1,136$2,018$3,290$4,844

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 10× what the cheapest tenth charges ($469 vs $4,844).

Of the 1,413 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,318 gave a usable cash price; 35 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 60 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,777 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (45%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,922 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,777
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here71
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded69
Hospitals that filed this code1,922

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 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Other diagnostic procedures on musculoskeletal system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Biopsy Soft Tissue Neck/Thorax.

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, “Biopsy of soft tissue in the neck or chest wall (CPT 21550) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-21550-biopsy-of-soft-tissue-in-the-neck-or-chest-wall