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Procedure price report · Tracheoscopy and laryngoscopy with biopsy

Direct exam of the voice box for diagnosis

CPT 31525the billing code this page is about

A rigid scope is placed through the mouth to view the voice box, and sometimes the windpipe, for diagnosis in a patient other than a newborn.

Hospitals typically charge $1,968 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,491 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,027. Most fall between $564 and $3,786 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,491
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 1,491 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
$344$746$1,968$3,505$5,329

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($344 vs $5,329).

How the prices are spread

$239 – $332: 68 hospitals$239$332 – $463: 102 hospitals$463 – $645: 88 hospitals$463$645 – $899: 79 hospitals$899 – $1,252: 139 hospitals$899$1,252 – $1,744: 110 hospitals$1,744 – $2,430: 229 hospitals$1,744$2,430 – $3,386: 215 hospitals$3,386 – $4,718: 182 hospitals$3,386$4,718 – $6,573: 132 hospitals$4,718median $1,968price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,344 of 1,491 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$239$33268
$332$463102
$463$64588
$645$89979
$899$1,252139
$1,252$1,744110
$1,744$2,430229
$2,430$3,386215
$3,386$4,718182
$4,718$6,573132

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,818
Median cash price$1,968
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.08×

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 $1,968.

Alaska: median $3,117 across 10 hospitalsAK$3,117Maine: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $212 across 10 hospitalsNH$212Washington: median $2,393 across 50 hospitalsWA$2,393Idaho: median $4,755 across 15 hospitalsID$4,755Montana: median $393 across 14 hospitalsMT$393North Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,226 across 40 hospitalsMN$1,226Illinois: median $1,920 across 52 hospitalsIL$1,920Wisconsin: median $1,249 across 48 hospitalsWI$1,249Michigan: median $1,805 across 59 hospitalsMI$1,805New York: median $2,325 across 77 hospitalsNY$2,325Massachusetts: median $2,149 across 41 hospitalsMA$2,149Oregon: median $605 across 35 hospitalsOR$605Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $616 across 32 hospitalsIA$616Indiana: median $711 across 34 hospitalsIN$711Ohio: median $2,587 across 62 hospitalsOH$2,587Pennsylvania: median $2,515 across 70 hospitalsPA$2,515New Jersey: median $2,303 across 44 hospitalsNJ$2,303Connecticut: median $1,530 across 14 hospitalsCT$1,530Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $3,224 across 99 hospitalsCA$3,224Utah: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $1,422 across 23 hospitalsCO$1,422Nebraska: median $606 across 25 hospitalsNE$606Missouri: median $1,433 across 39 hospitalsMO$1,433Kentucky: median $762 across 14 hospitalsKY$762West Virginia: median $1,806 across 23 hospitalsWV$1,806Virginia: median $1,268 across 32 hospitalsVA$1,268Maryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: median $1,098 across 13 hospitalsNM$1,098Kansas: median $1,676 across 16 hospitalsKS$1,676Arkansas: median $629 across 14 hospitalsAR$629Tennessee: median $568 across 20 hospitalsTN$568North Carolina: median $1,204 across 35 hospitalsNC$1,204South Carolina: median $3,920 across 34 hospitalsSC$3,920Oklahoma: median $545 across 30 hospitalsOK$545Louisiana: median $1,524 across 25 hospitalsLA$1,524Mississippi: median $1,118 across 20 hospitalsMS$1,118Alabama: median $1,458 across 15 hospitalsAL$1,458Georgia: median $2,049 across 54 hospitalsGA$2,049Hawaii: median $2,244 across 13 hospitalsHI$2,244Texas: median $2,343 across 116 hospitalsTX$2,343Florida: median $2,818 across 51 hospitalsFL$2,818
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,968. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Idaho ID15$4,755+142%$629 – $4,755
South Carolina SC34$3,920+99%$1,279 – $5,514
California CA99$3,224+64%$1,782 – $6,227
Alaska AK10$3,117+58%$1,050 – $4,429
Florida FL51$2,818+43%$2,504 – $5,128
Ohio OH62$2,587+31%$1,455 – $5,156
Pennsylvania PA70$2,515+28%$1,819 – $4,229
Washington WA50$2,393+22%$564 – $3,737
Texas TX116$2,343+19%$919 – $3,720
New York NY77$2,325+18%$495 – $4,595
New Jersey NJ44$2,303+17%$1,909 – $5,855
Hawaii HI13$2,244+14%$280 – $3,408
Massachusetts MA41$2,149+9%$792 – $3,423
Georgia GA54$2,049+4%$1,162 – $4,463
Illinois IL52$1,920−2%$618 – $3,366
West Virginia WV23$1,806−8%$167 – $2,626
Michigan MI59$1,805−8%$190 – $2,914
Kansas KS16$1,676−15%$350 – $3,320
Connecticut CT14$1,530−22%$363 – $4,804
Louisiana LA25$1,524−23%$1,007 – $2,070
Alabama AL15$1,458−26%$551 – $2,596
Missouri MO39$1,433−27%$392 – $3,143
Colorado CO23$1,422−28%$991 – $2,587
Virginia VA32$1,268−36%$1,088 – $3,404
Wisconsin WI48$1,249−37%$745 – $3,370
Minnesota MN40$1,226−38%$416 – $1,840
North Carolina NC35$1,204−39%$589 – $2,116
Mississippi MS20$1,118−43%$343 – $1,706
New Mexico NM13$1,098−44%$175 – $2,019
Kentucky KY14$762−61%$272 – $2,279
Indiana IN34$711−64%$422 – $2,725
Arkansas AR14$629−68%$446 – $1,789
Iowa IA32$616−69%$305 – $3,233
Nebraska NE25$606−69%$442 – $1,168
Oregon OR35$605−69%$455 – $2,878
Tennessee TN20$568−71%$305 – $3,152
Oklahoma OK30$545−72%$264 – $2,257
Montana MT14$393−80%$238 – $750
New Hampshire NH10$212−89%$166 – $491
Maine ME9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT2not 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 $1,968.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,176$2,168$890 – $4,233
Children’s36$2,073$901 – $5,780
Critical access276$705$342 – $2,458
Ownership
For-profit147$2,481$937 – $4,680
Government237$1,279$489 – $3,408
Non-profit1,104$2,031$577 – $3,736
System affiliation
Part of a system1,222$2,064$605 – $4,043
Independent269$1,544$450 – $3,198

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,533
Median cash price$1,968
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

1,083 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,052 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,106; most fall between $597 and $3,737.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,083 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
$330$874$2,052$3,577$5,193

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($330 vs $5,193).

Of the 1,166 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,083 gave a usable cash price; 37 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 46 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,491 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (38%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,617 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,491
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here67
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded2
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded57
Hospitals that filed this code1,617

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 Tracheoscopy and laryngoscopy with biopsy family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Laryngoscopy W/WO Tracheoscopy Dx Except Newborn.

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, “Direct exam of the voice box for diagnosis (CPT 31525) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-31525-direct-exam-of-the-voice-box-for-diagnosis