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Procedure price report · Other diagnostic procedures on lung and bronchus

Open chest surgery to biopsy a lung nodule

CPT 32097the billing code this page is about

The chest is opened surgically to take a tissue sample from a lung nodule, mass, or abnormal area on one side of the chest for diagnosis.

Hospitals typically charge $1,955 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 255 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,145. Most fall between $1,021 and $3,986 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
255
States
39
Filings dated
Jan 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 23, 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 255 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
$790$1,221$1,955$3,575$5,419

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.9× what the cheapest tenth charges ($790 vs $5,419).

How the prices are spread

$402 – $530: 2 hospitals$402$530 – $697: 5 hospitals$697 – $919: 18 hospitals$697$919 – $1,210: 26 hospitals$1,210 – $1,593: 46 hospitals$1,210$1,593 – $2,098: 31 hospitals$2,098 – $2,763: 18 hospitals$2,098$2,763 – $3,639: 36 hospitals$3,639 – $4,792: 31 hospitals$3,639$4,792 – $6,311: 18 hospitals$4,792median $1,955price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (231 of 255 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$402$5302
$530$6975
$697$91918
$919$1,21026
$1,210$1,59346
$1,593$2,09831
$2,098$2,76318
$2,763$3,63936
$3,639$4,79231
$4,792$6,31118

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,955.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $1,572 across 11 hospitalsIL$1,572Wisconsin: median $4,538 across 25 hospitalsWI$4,538Michigan: median $1,547 across 28 hospitalsMI$1,547New York: median $1,642 across 12 hospitalsNY$1,642Massachusetts: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $1,455 across 10 hospitalsOR$1,455Nevada: 2 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 $1,955 across 14 hospitalsIA$1,955Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $3,208 across 11 hospitalsOH$3,208Pennsylvania: median $3,775 across 24 hospitalsPA$3,775New Jersey: median $5,110 across 14 hospitalsNJ$5,110Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $3,433 across 24 hospitalsCA$3,433Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: 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: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSCOklahoma: median $1,306 across 10 hospitalsOK$1,306Louisiana: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceLAMississippi: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceGAHawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTXFlorida: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,955. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ14$5,110+161%$3,986 – $6,311
Wisconsin WI25$4,538+132%$3,685 – $4,538
Pennsylvania PA24$3,775+93%$332 – $7,027
California CA24$3,433+76%$2,255 – $3,433
Ohio OH11$3,208+64%$1,229 – $3,575
Iowa IA14$1,9550%$1,955 – $1,955
New York NY12$1,642−16%$950 – $2,365
Illinois IL11$1,572−20%$1,021 – $2,228
Michigan MI28$1,547−21%$1,157 – $2,682
Oregon OR10$1,455−26%$1,455 – $1,459
Oklahoma OK10$1,306−33%$1,306 – $1,306
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Texas TX4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN1not 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 $1,955.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care204$1,955$1,021 – $3,685
Children’s8fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access42$1,955$1,021 – $4,538
Ownership
For-profit17fewer than 20 hospitals
Government25$1,675$904 – $2,682
Non-profit212$1,955$1,149 – $4,350
System affiliation
Part of a system213$1,955$1,104 – $4,529
Independent42$1,675$911 – $3,208

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,640
Median cash price$1,955
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. 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

189 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,820 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,019; most fall between $1,021 and $3,433.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 189 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
$713$1,065$1,820$3,433$4,538

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.4× what the cheapest tenth charges ($713 vs $4,538).

Of the 209 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 189 gave a usable cash price; 17 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 3 a list price only.

How complete is this

255 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (6%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 307 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted255
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here38
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded13
Hospitals that filed this code307

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • 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 23, 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 Other diagnostic procedures on lung and bronchus family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Thoractomy W/Dx Bx Lung Nodule/Mass Unilateral.

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, “Open chest surgery to biopsy a lung nodule (CPT 32097) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-32097-open-chest-surgery-to-biopsy-a-lung-nodule