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

Open removal of deep neck nodes with scalene fat pad

CPT 38520the billing code this page is about

Through a neck incision, deep neck lymph nodes are removed along with the nearby scalene fat pad tissue.

Hospitals typically charge $1,869 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 374 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,630. Most fall between $809 and $5,110 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
374
States
46
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – 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 374 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
$623$893$1,869$4,895$9,738

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($623 vs $9,738).

How the prices are spread

$472 – $642: 30 hospitals$472$642 – $872: 41 hospitals$872 – $1,185: 54 hospitals$872$1,185 – $1,611: 19 hospitals$1,611 – $2,189: 34 hospitals$1,611$2,189 – $2,975: 17 hospitals$2,975 – $4,042: 19 hospitals$2,975$4,042 – $5,493: 79 hospitals$5,493 – $7,465: 14 hospitals$5,493$7,465 – $10,144: 31 hospitals$7,465median $1,869price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (338 of 374 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$472$64230
$642$87241
$872$1,18554
$1,185$1,61119
$1,611$2,18934
$2,189$2,97517
$2,975$4,04219
$4,042$5,49379
$5,493$7,46514
$7,465$10,14431

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$4,000
Median cash price$1,869
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.47×

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 $1,869.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 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: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $856 across 14 hospitalsIL$856Wisconsin: median $1,869 across 21 hospitalsWI$1,869Michigan: median $1,869 across 16 hospitalsMI$1,869New York: median $4,531 across 29 hospitalsNY$4,531Massachusetts: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,142 across 18 hospitalsIA$1,142Indiana: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $1,828 across 14 hospitalsOH$1,828Pennsylvania: median $357 across 18 hospitalsPA$357New Jersey: median $4,881 across 30 hospitalsNJ$4,881Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $4,992 across 42 hospitalsCA$4,992Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: median $985 across 10 hospitalsNE$985Missouri: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $902 across 13 hospitalsOK$902Louisiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $4,803 across 22 hospitalsTX$4,803Florida: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,869. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA42$4,992+167%$2,395 – $9,738
New Jersey NJ30$4,881+161%$4,238 – $5,419
Texas TX22$4,803+157%$4,803 – $4,803
New York NY29$4,531+142%$755 – $4,648
Michigan MI16$1,8690%$1,522 – $5,384
Wisconsin WI21$1,8690%$1,869 – $3,378
Ohio OH14$1,828−2%$776 – $3,120
Iowa IA18$1,142−39%$883 – $1,142
Nebraska NE10$985−47%$809 – $1,068
Oklahoma OK13$902−52%$902 – $6,464
Illinois IL14$856−54%$630 – $1,305
Pennsylvania PA18$357−81%$291 – $6,474
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not 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 $1,869.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care292$2,929$856 – $5,384
Children’s8fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access73$1,142$630 – $3,378
Ownership
For-profit38$2,395$656 – $7,113
Government56$1,209$787 – $4,147
Non-profit279$1,927$866 – $5,339
System affiliation
Part of a system295$2,395$866 – $5,110
Independent79$1,209$757 – $3,844

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,859
Median cash price$1,869
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

226 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,361 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,116; most fall between $685 and $4,992.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 226 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
$538$826$1,361$4,803$9,738

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($538 vs $9,738).

Of the 250 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 226 gave a usable cash price; 18 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 6 a list price only.

How complete is this

374 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (9%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 419 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted374
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) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded6
Hospitals that filed this code419

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 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 therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Bx/Exc Lymph Node Opn Dp Crv Node W/Exc Fat Pad.

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 removal of deep neck nodes with scalene fat pad (CPT 38520) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-38520-open-removal-of-deep-neck-nodes-with-scalene-fat-pad