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Procedure price report · Tracheoscopy and laryngoscopy with biopsy

Direct exam of the voice box using an operating microscope

CPT 31526the billing code this page is about

A rigid scope is placed through the mouth and the voice box is examined for diagnosis with the added magnification of an operating microscope or telescope.

Hospitals typically charge $1,970 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 610 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,159. Most fall between $388 and $4,595 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
610
States
49
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – 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 610 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
$267$528$1,970$4,157$6,311

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 24× what the cheapest tenth charges ($267 vs $6,311).

How the prices are spread

$233 – $340: 72 hospitals$233$340 – $497: 42 hospitals$497 – $726: 48 hospitals$497$726 – $1,060: 30 hospitals$1,060 – $1,548: 26 hospitals$1,060$1,548 – $2,261: 95 hospitals$2,261 – $3,302: 53 hospitals$2,261$3,302 – $4,822: 104 hospitals$4,822 – $7,042: 55 hospitals$4,822$7,042 – $10,284: 25 hospitals$7,042median $1,970price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (550 of 610 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$233$34072
$340$49742
$497$72648
$726$1,06030
$1,060$1,54826
$1,548$2,26195
$2,261$3,30253
$3,302$4,822104
$4,822$7,04255
$7,042$10,28425

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,818
Median cash price$1,970
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 $1,970.

Alaska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $3,127 across 19 hospitalsWA$3,127Idaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,175 across 21 hospitalsMN$1,175Illinois: median $387 across 19 hospitalsIL$387Wisconsin: median $1,737 across 17 hospitalsWI$1,737Michigan: median $552 across 27 hospitalsMI$552New York: median $2,041 across 50 hospitalsNY$2,041Massachusetts: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $2,997 across 15 hospitalsOR$2,997Nevada: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 5 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 $387 across 21 hospitalsIA$387Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $2,908 across 26 hospitalsOH$2,908Pennsylvania: median $2,915 across 12 hospitalsPA$2,915New Jersey: median $4,627 across 31 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $3,437 across 67 hospitalsCA$3,437Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $1,779 across 24 hospitalsMO$1,779Kentucky: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $2,046 across 11 hospitalsWV$2,046Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $365 across 10 hospitalsTN$365North Carolina: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: median $11,198 across 15 hospitalsSC$11,198Oklahoma: median $258 across 13 hospitalsOK$258Louisiana: median $2,504 across 17 hospitalsLA$2,504Mississippi: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,411 across 47 hospitalsTX$2,411Florida: median $3,463 across 17 hospitalsFL$3,463
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,970. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Carolina SC15$11,198+469%$4,981 – $11,198
New Jersey NJ31$4,627+135%$1,910 – $6,864
Florida FL17$3,463+76%$668 – $5,381
California CA67$3,437+75%$1,001 – $5,449
Washington WA19$3,127+59%$298 – $4,157
Oregon OR15$2,997+52%$287 – $4,532
Pennsylvania PA12$2,915+48%$1,984 – $21,562
Ohio OH26$2,908+48%$569 – $9,043
Louisiana LA17$2,504+27%$1,099 – $5,042
Texas TX47$2,411+22%$1,868 – $4,440
West Virginia WV11$2,046+4%$599 – $3,021
New York NY50$2,041+4%$528 – $4,595
Missouri MO24$1,779−10%$267 – $6,955
Wisconsin WI17$1,737−12%$1,706 – $1,970
Minnesota MN21$1,175−40%$378 – $1,175
Michigan MI27$552−72%$266 – $2,447
Iowa IA21$387−80%$387 – $767
Illinois IL19$387−80%$299 – $4,809
Tennessee TN10$365−81%$196 – $4,457
Oklahoma OK13$258−87%$258 – $640
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT1not 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 $1,970.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care491$2,084$507 – $4,981
Children’s22$1,046$391 – $2,908
Critical access96$752$304 – $2,797
Ownership
For-profit66$3,023$656 – $5,042
Government86$935$298 – $3,117
Non-profit457$1,970$391 – $4,595
System affiliation
Part of a system497$2,031$473 – $4,781
Independent113$801$298 – $3,357

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,113
Median cash price$1,970
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

347 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,714 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,740; most fall between $299 and $4,068.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 347 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
$258$353$1,714$3,437$5,449

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 21× what the cheapest tenth charges ($258 vs $5,449).

Of the 387 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 347 gave a usable cash price; 26 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 14 a list price only.

How complete is this

610 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (15%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 682 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted610
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here54
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded16
Hospitals that filed this code682

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 W/Micro/Telescope.

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 using an operating microscope (CPT 31526) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-31526-direct-exam-of-the-voice-box-using-an-operating-microscope