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Procedure price report · Other OR procedures on vessels of head and neck

Temporal artery biopsy or tie-off

CPT 37609the billing code this page is about

A small incision at the temple to tie off the temporal artery or remove a piece of it for laboratory examination.

Hospitals typically charge $1,774 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,320 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,044. Most fall between $555 and $5,079 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,320
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 1,320 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
$382$659$1,774$4,347$6,925

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($382 vs $6,925).

How the prices are spread

$295 – $420: 85 hospitals$295$420 – $599: 149 hospitals$599 – $854: 107 hospitals$599$854 – $1,218: 104 hospitals$1,218 – $1,737: 141 hospitals$1,218$1,737 – $2,476: 161 hospitals$2,476 – $3,531: 131 hospitals$2,476$3,531 – $5,034: 112 hospitals$5,034 – $7,178: 144 hospitals$5,034$7,178 – $10,234: 55 hospitals$7,178median $1,774price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,189 of 1,320 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$295$42085
$420$599149
$599$854107
$854$1,218104
$1,218$1,737141
$1,737$2,476161
$2,476$3,531131
$3,531$5,034112
$5,034$7,178144
$7,178$10,23455

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,687
Median cash price$1,774
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.05×

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 $1,774.

Alaska: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $611 across 15 hospitalsME$611Vermont: median $790 across 10 hospitalsVT$790New Hampshire: median $472 across 11 hospitalsNH$472Washington: median $1,866 across 44 hospitalsWA$1,866Idaho: median $2,157 across 15 hospitalsID$2,157Montana: median $679 across 17 hospitalsMT$679North Dakota: median $2,827 across 12 hospitalsND$2,827Minnesota: median $1,221 across 48 hospitalsMN$1,221Illinois: median $1,414 across 52 hospitalsIL$1,414Wisconsin: median $1,679 across 70 hospitalsWI$1,679Michigan: median $1,322 across 48 hospitalsMI$1,322New York: median $1,917 across 72 hospitalsNY$1,917Massachusetts: median $3,236 across 25 hospitalsMA$3,236Oregon: median $858 across 33 hospitalsOR$858Nevada: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $761 across 48 hospitalsIA$761Indiana: median $562 across 22 hospitalsIN$562Ohio: median $2,830 across 65 hospitalsOH$2,830Pennsylvania: median $1,951 across 56 hospitalsPA$1,951New Jersey: median $2,162 across 37 hospitalsNJ$2,162Connecticut: median $2,224 across 10 hospitalsCT$2,224Rhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $3,323 across 103 hospitalsCA$3,323Utah: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $1,266 across 19 hospitalsCO$1,266Nebraska: median $752 across 26 hospitalsNE$752Missouri: median $1,410 across 31 hospitalsMO$1,410Kentucky: median $795 across 17 hospitalsKY$795West Virginia: median $1,018 across 23 hospitalsWV$1,018Virginia: median $1,387 across 26 hospitalsVA$1,387Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $651 across 37 hospitalsKS$651Arkansas: median $1,446 across 14 hospitalsAR$1,446Tennessee: median $1,708 across 16 hospitalsTN$1,708North Carolina: median $2,963 across 14 hospitalsNC$2,963South Carolina: median $6,796 across 15 hospitalsSC$6,796Oklahoma: median $437 across 24 hospitalsOK$437Louisiana: median $1,569 across 18 hospitalsLA$1,569Mississippi: median $1,201 across 18 hospitalsMS$1,201Alabama: median $2,150 across 15 hospitalsAL$2,150Georgia: median $5,706 across 28 hospitalsGA$5,706Hawaii: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,206 across 63 hospitalsTX$2,206Florida: median $5,888 across 42 hospitalsFL$5,888
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,774. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Carolina SC15$6,796+283%$2,545 – $6,796
Florida FL42$5,888+232%$4,143 – $7,642
Georgia GA28$5,706+222%$1,686 – $5,810
California CA103$3,323+87%$1,473 – $6,742
Massachusetts MA25$3,236+82%$1,689 – $5,932
North Carolina NC14$2,963+67%$825 – $10,181
Ohio OH65$2,830+60%$961 – $6,561
North Dakota ND12$2,827+59%$738 – $3,029
Connecticut CT10$2,224+25%$583 – $2,624
Texas TX63$2,206+24%$1,356 – $6,074
New Jersey NJ37$2,162+22%$1,795 – $5,419
Idaho ID15$2,157+22%$620 – $4,347
Alabama AL15$2,150+21%$601 – $5,448
Pennsylvania PA56$1,951+10%$351 – $4,490
New York NY72$1,917+8%$452 – $4,595
Washington WA44$1,866+5%$557 – $3,721
Tennessee TN16$1,708−4%$376 – $4,700
Wisconsin WI70$1,679−5%$555 – $3,239
Louisiana LA18$1,569−12%$704 – $2,696
Arkansas AR14$1,446−18%$554 – $4,821
Illinois IL52$1,414−20%$601 – $4,340
Missouri MO31$1,410−20%$435 – $4,072
Virginia VA26$1,387−22%$1,134 – $4,689
Michigan MI48$1,322−25%$505 – $5,137
Colorado CO19$1,266−29%$478 – $3,021
Minnesota MN48$1,221−31%$530 – $1,975
Mississippi MS18$1,201−32%$483 – $4,798
West Virginia WV23$1,018−43%$216 – $2,369
Oregon OR33$858−52%$461 – $4,469
Kentucky KY17$795−55%$349 – $1,444
Vermont VT10$790−55%$353 – $1,869
Iowa IA48$761−57%$506 – $2,020
Nebraska NE26$752−58%$629 – $1,608
Montana MT17$679−62%$313 – $1,947
Kansas KS37$651−63%$354 – $1,518
Maine ME15$611−66%$344 – $1,094
Indiana IN22$562−68%$349 – $6,754
New Hampshire NH11$472−73%$193 – $2,279
Oklahoma OK24$437−75%$437 – $3,646
Alaska AK8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not 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 $1,774.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care954$2,225$793 – $5,888
Children’s9fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access352$719$419 – $1,851
Ownership
For-profit121$3,384$1,093 – $8,114
Government231$1,004$506 – $2,924
Non-profit963$1,851$555 – $5,079
System affiliation
Part of a system1,029$1,975$611 – $5,706
Independent291$924$416 – $2,608

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,583
Median cash price$1,774
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

830 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,685 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,026; most fall between $555 and $4,689.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 830 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
$366$645$1,685$3,899$6,074

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 17× what the cheapest tenth charges ($366 vs $6,074).

Of the 896 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 830 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 40 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,320 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (33%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,436 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,320
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here63
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded6
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded47
Hospitals that filed this code1,436

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 Other OR procedures on vessels of head and neck family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Ligation/Biopsy Temporal Artery.

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, “Temporal artery biopsy or tie-off (CPT 37609) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-37609-temporal-artery-biopsy-or-tie-off