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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system

Preparing collected T cells for shipment

CPT 38226the billing code this page is about

Laboratory handling, such as freezing and packaging, of the patient's collected T cells so they can be transported to the manufacturing facility.

Hospitals typically charge $1,538 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 275 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,857. Most fall between $398 and $3,682 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
275
States
42
Filings dated
Jun 2025 – 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 275 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
$225$494$1,538$3,682$8,176

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 36× what the cheapest tenth charges ($225 vs $8,176).

How the prices are spread

$129 – $206: 12 hospitals$129$206 – $330: 10 hospitals$330 – $527: 36 hospitals$330$527 – $843: 31 hospitals$843 – $1,347: 28 hospitals$843$1,347 – $2,154: 17 hospitals$2,154 – $3,444: 46 hospitals$2,154$3,444 – $5,506: 43 hospitals$5,506 – $8,803: 14 hospitals$5,506$8,803 – $14,074: 12 hospitals$8,803median $1,538price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (249 of 275 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$129$20612
$206$33010
$330$52736
$527$84331
$843$1,34728
$1,347$2,15417
$2,154$3,44446
$3,444$5,50643
$5,506$8,80314
$8,803$14,07412

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,538.

Alaska: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 5 hospitals 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: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureILWisconsin: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWIMichigan: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMINew York: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNYMassachusetts: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIAIndiana: median $780 across 15 hospitalsIN$780Ohio: median $1,296 across 19 hospitalsOH$1,296Pennsylvania: median $187 across 15 hospitalsPA$187New Jersey: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNJConnecticut: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $398 across 28 hospitalsCA$398Utah: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceWVVirginia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: median $2,841 across 16 hospitalsNC$2,841South Carolina: median $2,340 across 10 hospitalsSC$2,340Oklahoma: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceOKLouisiana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMSAlabama: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceALGeorgia: median $3,029 across 14 hospitalsGA$3,029Hawaii: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $3,682 across 36 hospitalsTX$3,682Florida: median $3,016 across 28 hospitalsFL$3,016
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,538. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Texas TX36$3,682+139%$3,443 – $3,682
Georgia GA14$3,029+97%$575 – $5,875
Florida FL28$3,016+96%$341 – $4,067
North Carolina NC16$2,841+85%$1,383 – $2,841
South Carolina SC10$2,340+52%$770 – $2,340
Ohio OH19$1,296−16%$226 – $3,443
Indiana IN15$780−49%$625 – $960
California CA28$398−74%$398 – $1,492
Pennsylvania PA15$187−88%$158 – $11,577
Arizona AZ9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Illinois IL8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New York NY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wisconsin WI3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Iowa IA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Jersey NJ2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Michigan MI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY1not 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 $1,538.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care245$1,492$398 – $3,682
Children’s16fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access11fewer than 20 hospitals
Ownership
For-profit30$3,190$146 – $8,176
Government37$2,841$1,116 – $3,686
Non-profit205$1,296$398 – $3,682
System affiliation
Part of a system255$1,383$398 – $3,682
Independent20$3,135$808 – $5,251

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,630
Median cash price$1,538
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

207 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,151 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,198; most fall between $494 and $3,682.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 207 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
$398$575$2,151$3,682$6,212

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($398 vs $6,212).

Of the 240 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 207 gave a usable cash price; 16 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 17 a list price only.

How complete is this

275 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (7%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 329 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted275
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here11
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded43
Hospitals that filed this code329

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 5, 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 therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as HC T Cell Pack & Ship Product.

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, “Preparing collected T cells for shipment (CPT 38226) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-38226-preparing-collected-t-cells-for-shipment