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Procedure price report · Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, biopsy

Esophagus scope exam with ultrasound-guided needle biopsy

CPT 43232the billing code this page is about

A flexible scope with an ultrasound probe is passed through the mouth and a thin needle is guided into tissue in or beside the esophagus to draw out cells for testing.

Hospitals typically charge $2,073 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 646 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,131. Most fall between $618 and $4,181 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
646
States
48
Filings dated
Jun 2024 – 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 646 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
$420$859$2,073$3,484$5,890

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($420 vs $5,890).

How the prices are spread

$273 – $376: 21 hospitals$273$376 – $518: 49 hospitals$518 – $713: 38 hospitals$518$713 – $983: 45 hospitals$983 – $1,354: 61 hospitals$983$1,354 – $1,865: 43 hospitals$1,865 – $2,569: 111 hospitals$1,865$2,569 – $3,538: 86 hospitals$3,538 – $4,874: 68 hospitals$3,538$4,874 – $6,714: 63 hospitals$4,874median $2,073price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (585 of 646 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$273$37621
$376$51849
$518$71338
$713$98345
$983$1,35461
$1,354$1,86543
$1,865$2,569111
$2,569$3,53886
$3,538$4,87468
$4,874$6,71463

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,960
Median cash price$2,073
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.06×

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 $2,073.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,157 across 10 hospitalsWA$1,157Idaho: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $2,316 across 22 hospitalsMN$2,316Illinois: median $2,555 across 24 hospitalsIL$2,555Wisconsin: median $1,237 across 28 hospitalsWI$1,237Michigan: median $480 across 30 hospitalsMI$480New York: median $2,245 across 27 hospitalsNY$2,245Massachusetts: median $5,458 across 17 hospitalsMA$5,458Oregon: median $964 across 11 hospitalsOR$964Nevada: 4 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 $859 across 18 hospitalsIA$859Indiana: median $2,133 across 22 hospitalsIN$2,133Ohio: median $4,181 across 31 hospitalsOH$4,181Pennsylvania: median $2,267 across 40 hospitalsPA$2,267New Jersey: median $2,531 across 37 hospitalsNJ$2,531Connecticut: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $3,568 across 63 hospitalsCA$3,568Utah: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $2,661 across 12 hospitalsMO$2,661Kentucky: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $1,093 across 15 hospitalsTN$1,093North Carolina: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: median $1,582 across 20 hospitalsSC$1,582Oklahoma: median $261 across 15 hospitalsOK$261Louisiana: median $734 across 17 hospitalsLA$734Mississippi: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $2,035 across 17 hospitalsGA$2,035Hawaii: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $915 across 42 hospitalsTX$915Florida: median $3,046 across 28 hospitalsFL$3,046
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,073. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Massachusetts MA17$5,458+163%$3,704 – $5,890
Ohio OH31$4,181+102%$3,262 – $5,672
California CA63$3,568+72%$2,024 – $6,714
Florida FL28$3,046+47%$1,904 – $3,420
Missouri MO12$2,661+28%$448 – $2,775
Illinois IL24$2,555+23%$420 – $6,892
New Jersey NJ37$2,531+22%$2,201 – $5,470
Minnesota MN22$2,316+12%$618 – $3,708
Pennsylvania PA40$2,267+9%$148 – $3,491
New York NY27$2,245+8%$1,303 – $2,395
Indiana IN22$2,133+3%$420 – $3,361
Georgia GA17$2,035−2%$1,569 – $2,035
South Carolina SC20$1,582−24%$873 – $2,083
Wisconsin WI28$1,237−40%$1,237 – $3,000
Washington WA10$1,157−44%$356 – $5,117
Tennessee TN15$1,093−47%$295 – $1,093
Oregon OR11$964−53%$356 – $4,259
Texas TX42$915−56%$611 – $1,138
Iowa IA18$859−59%$607 – $859
Louisiana LA17$734−65%$574 – $1,207
Michigan MI30$480−77%$480 – $1,586
Oklahoma OK15$261−87%$261 – $3,015
Kentucky KY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not 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 $2,073.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care549$2,083$734 – $4,181
Children’s11fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access84$1,237$442 – $3,708
Ownership
For-profit62$1,569$656 – $3,757
Government92$2,083$755 – $3,420
Non-profit490$2,100$609 – $4,194
System affiliation
Part of a system555$2,133$734 – $4,181
Independent91$1,534$493 – $3,647

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,835
Median cash price$2,073
Cash as a share of list, median hospital56%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 44%. 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

460 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,004 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,101; most fall between $555 and $4,259.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 460 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
$342$859$2,004$3,708$6,640

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 19× what the cheapest tenth charges ($342 vs $6,640).

Of the 504 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 460 gave a usable cash price; 20 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 24 a list price only.

How complete is this

646 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (16%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 704 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted646
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here40
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded4
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded13
Hospitals that filed this code704

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 23, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, biopsy family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Esophagoscopy Intra/Transmural Needle Aspirat/Bx.

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, “Esophagus scope exam with ultrasound-guided needle biopsy (CPT 43232) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-43232-esophagus-scope-exam-with-ultrasound-guided-needle-biopsy