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Procedure price report · Diagnostic bronchoscopy and biopsy of bronchus

Lung airway scope exam with placement of radiation markers

CPT 31626the billing code this page is about

A scope is passed into the airways to place one or more tiny markers that help guide later radiation treatment or surgery; the price covers all markers placed in the session.

Hospitals typically charge $4,471 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 707 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $5,517. Most fall between $2,046 and $11,076 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
707
States
49
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 707 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
$1,017$2,281$4,471$9,704$13,810

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,017 vs $13,810).

How the prices are spread

$469 – $685: 17 hospitals$469$685 – $1,000: 16 hospitals$1,000 – $1,460: 42 hospitals$1,000$1,460 – $2,133: 54 hospitals$2,133 – $3,115: 53 hospitals$2,133$3,115 – $4,549: 138 hospitals$4,549 – $6,644: 55 hospitals$4,549$6,644 – $9,704: 118 hospitals$9,704 – $14,172: 112 hospitals$9,704$14,172 – $20,698: 45 hospitals$14,172median $4,471price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (650 of 707 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$469$68517
$685$1,00016
$1,000$1,46042
$1,460$2,13354
$2,133$3,11553
$3,115$4,549138
$4,549$6,64455
$6,644$9,704118
$9,704$14,172112
$14,172$20,69845

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$7,210
Median cash price$4,471
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.62×

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 $4,471.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $3,394 across 15 hospitalsWA$3,394Idaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $1,869 across 26 hospitalsIL$1,869Wisconsin: median $3,600 across 32 hospitalsWI$3,600Michigan: median $5,171 across 14 hospitalsMI$5,171New York: median $8,192 across 39 hospitalsNY$8,192Massachusetts: median $3,522 across 10 hospitalsMA$3,522Oregon: median $6,043 across 11 hospitalsOR$6,043Nevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $2,046 across 18 hospitalsIA$2,046Indiana: median $1,943 across 15 hospitalsIN$1,943Ohio: median $11,336 across 57 hospitalsOH$11,336Pennsylvania: median $8,117 across 38 hospitalsPA$8,117New Jersey: median $7,662 across 34 hospitalsNJ$7,662Connecticut: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $7,595 across 66 hospitalsCA$7,595Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $5,520 across 18 hospitalsCO$5,520Nebraska: median $2,071 across 12 hospitalsNE$2,071Missouri: median $3,246 across 16 hospitalsMO$3,246Kentucky: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: median $7,628 across 15 hospitalsVA$7,628Maryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 4 hospitals 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: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $1,925 across 14 hospitalsTN$1,925North Carolina: median $3,651 across 17 hospitalsNC$3,651South Carolina: median $11,249 across 19 hospitalsSC$11,249Oklahoma: median $1,259 across 13 hospitalsOK$1,259Louisiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $3,135 across 37 hospitalsGA$3,135Hawaii: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $4,154 across 38 hospitalsTX$4,154Florida: median $4,407 across 38 hospitalsFL$4,407
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $4,471. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Ohio OH57$11,336+154%$4,233 – $20,698
South Carolina SC19$11,249+152%$2,208 – $11,249
New York NY39$8,192+83%$1,383 – $12,246
Pennsylvania PA38$8,117+82%$4,428 – $10,750
New Jersey NJ34$7,662+71%$5,339 – $9,237
Virginia VA15$7,628+71%$498 – $7,728
California CA66$7,595+70%$4,280 – $10,954
Oregon OR11$6,043+35%$1,388 – $7,592
Colorado CO18$5,520+23%$3,448 – $6,065
Michigan MI14$5,171+16%$3,600 – $9,704
Florida FL38$4,407−1%$3,133 – $14,218
Texas TX38$4,154−7%$1,692 – $7,156
North Carolina NC17$3,651−18%$2,316 – $7,029
Wisconsin WI32$3,600−19%$3,252 – $4,022
Massachusetts MA10$3,522−21%$1,953 – $18,909
Washington WA15$3,394−24%$1,388 – $3,544
Missouri MO16$3,246−27%$2,114 – $5,939
Georgia GA37$3,135−30%$2,834 – $12,230
Nebraska NE12$2,071−54%$2,071 – $3,241
Iowa IA18$2,046−54%$1,868 – $2,046
Indiana IN15$1,943−57%$1,675 – $2,611
Tennessee TN14$1,925−57%$428 – $5,365
Illinois IL26$1,869−58%$605 – $9,633
Oklahoma OK13$1,259−72%$1,259 – $5,977
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT1not 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 $4,471.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care618$5,322$2,046 – $10,954
Children’s8fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access76$3,600$2,459 – $11,432
Ownership
For-profit68$4,139$1,932 – $12,230
Government83$4,160$1,277 – $8,260
Non-profit551$5,322$2,046 – $11,249
System affiliation
Part of a system617$5,053$2,160 – $11,249
Independent90$2,626$469 – $8,855

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$7,825
Median cash price$4,471
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

522 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $4,160 and the average of the middle 60% is $5,304; most fall between $1,680 and $11,249.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 522 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
$798$2,071$4,160$10,954$13,484

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 17× what the cheapest tenth charges ($798 vs $13,484).

Of the 565 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 522 gave a usable cash price; 28 carried a plausibility flag, 2 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 13 a list price only.

How complete is this

707 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (18%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 767 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted707
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here44
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded2
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded13
Hospitals that filed this code767

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 Diagnostic bronchoscopy and biopsy of bronchus family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Bronchoscopy W/Plmt Fiducial Markers Single/Mult.

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, “Lung airway scope exam with placement of radiation markers (CPT 31626) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-31626-lung-airway-scope-exam-with-placement-of-radiation-markers