HRHospitalRates.comCompare prices

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

Open biopsy or removal of groin lymph nodes

CPT 38531the billing code this page is about

Through an incision in the groin, the surgeon removes one or more inguinofemoral lymph nodes for biopsy or treatment.

Hospitals typically charge $2,801 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 937 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,092. Most fall between $826 and $7,216 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
937
States
50
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – 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 937 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
$637$986$2,801$5,678$10,457

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($637 vs $10,457).

How the prices are spread

$498 – $704: 74 hospitals$498$704 – $995: 120 hospitals$995 – $1,406: 106 hospitals$995$1,406 – $1,987: 51 hospitals$1,987 – $2,809: 73 hospitals$1,987$2,809 – $3,970: 78 hospitals$3,970 – $5,611: 153 hospitals$3,970$5,611 – $7,931: 70 hospitals$7,931 – $11,210: 82 hospitals$7,931$11,210 – $15,844: 39 hospitals$11,210median $2,801price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (846 of 937 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$498$70474
$704$995120
$995$1,406106
$1,406$1,98751
$1,987$2,80973
$2,809$3,97078
$3,970$5,611153
$5,611$7,93170
$7,931$11,21082
$11,210$15,84439

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$4,000
Median cash price$2,801
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.70×

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 $2,801.

Alaska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $3,788 across 36 hospitalsWA$3,788Idaho: median $10,392 across 13 hospitalsID$10,392Montana: median $1,153 across 12 hospitalsMT$1,153North Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $2,495 across 35 hospitalsMN$2,495Illinois: median $2,996 across 48 hospitalsIL$2,996Wisconsin: median $1,779 across 38 hospitalsWI$1,779Michigan: median $742 across 41 hospitalsMI$742New York: median $4,531 across 61 hospitalsNY$4,531Massachusetts: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $1,066 across 25 hospitalsOR$1,066Nevada: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,076 across 42 hospitalsIA$1,076Indiana: median $1,930 across 31 hospitalsIN$1,930Ohio: median $7,525 across 37 hospitalsOH$7,525Pennsylvania: median $4,490 across 26 hospitalsPA$4,490New Jersey: median $4,627 across 35 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: 8 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 $4,992 across 63 hospitalsCA$4,992Utah: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $980 across 12 hospitalsCO$980Nebraska: median $2,414 across 14 hospitalsNE$2,414Missouri: median $3,262 across 32 hospitalsMO$3,262Kentucky: median $796 across 11 hospitalsKY$796West Virginia: median $2,082 across 20 hospitalsWV$2,082Virginia: median $3,318 across 16 hospitalsVA$3,318Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $2,570 across 10 hospitalsAZ$2,570New Mexico: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $874 across 26 hospitalsKS$874Arkansas: median $3,392 across 13 hospitalsAR$3,392Tennessee: median $2,891 across 15 hospitalsTN$2,891North Carolina: median $4,480 across 12 hospitalsNC$4,480South Carolina: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $738 across 20 hospitalsOK$738Louisiana: median $4,674 across 11 hospitalsLA$4,674Mississippi: median $5,467 across 12 hospitalsMS$5,467Alabama: median $3,494 across 15 hospitalsAL$3,494Georgia: median $5,810 across 13 hospitalsGA$5,810Hawaii: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $4,387 across 19 hospitalsTX$4,387Florida: median $5,522 across 25 hospitalsFL$5,522
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,801. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Idaho ID13$10,392+271%$3,046 – $10,392
Ohio OH37$7,525+169%$1,720 – $17,680
Georgia GA13$5,810+107%$3,688 – $6,884
Florida FL25$5,522+97%$3,332 – $10,073
Mississippi MS12$5,467+95%$1,944 – $8,370
California CA63$4,992+78%$1,701 – $8,008
Louisiana LA11$4,674+67%$3,136 – $6,809
New Jersey NJ35$4,627+65%$4,200 – $6,839
New York NY61$4,531+62%$814 – $4,595
Pennsylvania PA26$4,490+60%$1,186 – $10,086
North Carolina NC12$4,480+60%$1,157 – $9,174
Texas TX19$4,387+57%$1,337 – $10,037
Washington WA36$3,788+35%$900 – $7,578
Alabama AL15$3,494+25%$1,239 – $11,530
Arkansas AR13$3,392+21%$931 – $4,581
Virginia VA16$3,318+18%$574 – $15,619
Missouri MO32$3,262+16%$733 – $8,664
Illinois IL48$2,996+7%$822 – $7,700
Tennessee TN15$2,891+3%$436 – $6,198
Arizona AZ10$2,570−8%$464 – $6,884
Minnesota MN35$2,495−11%$637 – $2,927
Nebraska NE14$2,414−14%$893 – $2,580
West Virginia WV20$2,082−26%$498 – $3,694
Indiana IN31$1,930−31%$796 – $3,337
Wisconsin WI38$1,779−36%$1,779 – $4,140
Montana MT12$1,153−59%$823 – $2,905
Iowa IA42$1,076−62%$996 – $1,391
Oregon OR25$1,066−62%$826 – $1,889
Colorado CO12$980−65%$750 – $2,637
Kansas KS26$874−69%$665 – $1,224
Kentucky KY11$796−72%$576 – $986
Michigan MI41$742−73%$522 – $5,384
Oklahoma OK20$738−74%$738 – $8,276
New Hampshire NH9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not 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 $2,801.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care680$4,140$1,016 – $8,008
Children’s8fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access247$1,097$713 – $2,689
Ownership
For-profit99$5,810$1,533 – $12,076
Government174$1,297$791 – $4,531
Non-profit662$2,871$826 – $7,567
System affiliation
Part of a system713$3,542$893 – $8,008
Independent224$1,263$788 – $4,907

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,152
Median cash price$2,801
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

469 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,437 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,135; most fall between $683 and $5,522.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 469 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
$426$750$1,437$4,962$8,008

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 19× what the cheapest tenth charges ($426 vs $8,008).

Of the 519 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 469 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 29 a list price only.

How complete is this

937 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (24%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,037 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted937
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here65
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded4
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded31
Hospitals that filed this code1,037

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 therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Open Biopsy/Excision Inguinofemoral Nodes.

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 biopsy or removal of groin lymph nodes (CPT 38531) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-38531-open-biopsy-or-removal-of-groin-lymph-nodes