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Procedure price report · Diagnostic bronchoscopy and biopsy of bronchus

Bronchoscopy with needle biopsy of windpipe or airways

CPT 31629the billing code this page is about

A scope is passed into the airways and a needle is used to take tissue or fluid samples from the windpipe, main airway, or lobar airways.

Hospitals typically charge $2,987 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,175 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,106. Most fall between $1,115 and $6,059 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,175
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 1,175 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
$688$1,375$2,987$4,997$9,255

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($688 vs $9,255).

How the prices are spread

$485 – $680: 53 hospitals$485$680 – $953: 63 hospitals$953 – $1,337: 107 hospitals$953$1,337 – $1,874: 94 hospitals$1,874 – $2,628: 143 hospitals$1,874$2,628 – $3,684: 164 hospitals$3,684 – $5,166: 224 hospitals$3,684$5,166 – $7,243: 95 hospitals$7,243 – $10,155: 69 hospitals$7,243$10,155 – $14,238: 47 hospitals$10,155median $2,987price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,059 of 1,175 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$485$68053
$680$95363
$953$1,337107
$1,337$1,87494
$1,874$2,628143
$2,628$3,684164
$3,684$5,166224
$5,166$7,24395
$7,243$10,15569
$10,155$14,23847

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,809
Median cash price$2,987
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.78×

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 $2,987.

Alaska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $3,877 across 29 hospitalsWA$3,877Idaho: median $9,904 across 11 hospitalsID$9,904Montana: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $3,409 across 28 hospitalsMN$3,409Illinois: median $1,330 across 43 hospitalsIL$1,330Wisconsin: median $2,811 across 51 hospitalsWI$2,811Michigan: median $1,038 across 37 hospitalsMI$1,038New York: median $4,363 across 65 hospitalsNY$4,363Massachusetts: median $5,539 across 26 hospitalsMA$5,539Oregon: median $1,073 across 15 hospitalsOR$1,073Nevada: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,115 across 25 hospitalsIA$1,115Indiana: median $2,562 across 32 hospitalsIN$2,562Ohio: median $5,294 across 76 hospitalsOH$5,294Pennsylvania: median $4,323 across 65 hospitalsPA$4,323New Jersey: median $4,824 across 42 hospitalsNJ$4,824Connecticut: median $4,250 across 10 hospitalsCT$4,250Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $4,553 across 93 hospitalsCA$4,553Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $3,227 across 26 hospitalsCO$3,227Nebraska: median $1,707 across 14 hospitalsNE$1,707Missouri: median $2,010 across 35 hospitalsMO$2,010Kentucky: median $1,395 across 18 hospitalsKY$1,395West Virginia: median $3,054 across 13 hospitalsWV$3,054Virginia: median $3,669 across 27 hospitalsVA$3,669Maryland: 4 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: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $2,295 across 12 hospitalsKS$2,295Arkansas: median $1,156 across 11 hospitalsAR$1,156Tennessee: median $1,424 across 18 hospitalsTN$1,424North Carolina: median $1,310 across 24 hospitalsNC$1,310South Carolina: median $2,987 across 22 hospitalsSC$2,987Oklahoma: median $544 across 17 hospitalsOK$544Louisiana: median $1,172 across 30 hospitalsLA$1,172Mississippi: median $2,600 across 18 hospitalsMS$2,600Alabama: median $3,327 across 11 hospitalsAL$3,327Georgia: median $2,205 across 44 hospitalsGA$2,205Hawaii: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,229 across 61 hospitalsTX$2,229Florida: median $6,137 across 41 hospitalsFL$6,137
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,987. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Idaho ID11$9,904+232%$2,009 – $9,904
Florida FL41$6,137+105%$2,547 – $6,508
Massachusetts MA26$5,539+85%$2,554 – $13,135
Ohio OH76$5,294+77%$2,786 – $11,024
New Jersey NJ42$4,824+62%$4,084 – $6,726
California CA93$4,553+52%$1,435 – $5,138
New York NY65$4,363+46%$698 – $6,059
Pennsylvania PA65$4,323+45%$3,365 – $6,233
Connecticut CT10$4,250+42%$3,144 – $5,152
Washington WA29$3,877+30%$1,860 – $4,800
Virginia VA27$3,669+23%$3,035 – $4,171
Minnesota MN28$3,409+14%$2,076 – $3,758
Alabama AL11$3,327+11%$1,242 – $8,304
Colorado CO26$3,227+8%$1,696 – $3,396
West Virginia WV13$3,054+2%$455 – $4,326
South Carolina SC22$2,9870%$2,929 – $2,987
Wisconsin WI51$2,811−6%$2,325 – $6,839
Mississippi MS18$2,600−13%$1,703 – $3,548
Indiana IN32$2,562−14%$1,368 – $15,875
Kansas KS12$2,295−23%$693 – $3,957
Texas TX61$2,229−25%$1,210 – $2,825
Georgia GA44$2,205−26%$1,700 – $6,602
Missouri MO35$2,010−33%$973 – $3,957
Nebraska NE14$1,707−43%$1,104 – $1,779
Tennessee TN18$1,424−52%$593 – $2,981
Kentucky KY18$1,395−53%$596 – $14,805
Illinois IL43$1,330−55%$819 – $4,325
North Carolina NC24$1,310−56%$1,011 – $3,939
Louisiana LA30$1,172−61%$834 – $2,502
Arkansas AR11$1,156−61%$910 – $1,426
Iowa IA25$1,115−63%$890 – $1,707
Oregon OR15$1,073−64%$809 – $8,845
Michigan MI37$1,038−65%$688 – $5,127
Oklahoma OK17$544−82%$544 – $3,885
New Mexico NM9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not 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 $2,987.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,029$3,207$1,199 – $6,137
Children’s15fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access125$2,325$896 – $4,640
Ownership
For-profit118$2,834$1,310 – $6,305
Government152$2,933$1,040 – $5,233
Non-profit899$3,035$1,115 – $6,233
System affiliation
Part of a system996$3,207$1,296 – $6,233
Independent179$2,083$596 – $4,900

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$5,201
Median cash price$2,987
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

820 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,811 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,860; most fall between $1,104 and $5,379.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 820 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
$621$1,310$2,811$4,553$8,642

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($621 vs $8,642).

Of the 877 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 820 gave a usable cash price; 21 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 36 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,175 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (30%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,270 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,175
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here58
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded8
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded29
Hospitals that filed this code1,270

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 Diagnostic bronchoscopy and biopsy of bronchus family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Bronchoscopy Needle Bx Trachea Main Stem&/Bron.

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, “Bronchoscopy with needle biopsy of windpipe or airways (CPT 31629) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-31629-bronchoscopy-with-needle-biopsy-of-windpipe-or-airways