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Procedure price report · Endoscopic retrograde cannulation of pancreas (ERCP)

Scope exam of bile and pancreatic ducts with biopsy

CPT 43261the billing code this page is about

A scope is passed through the mouth to reach the bile and pancreatic ducts, and tissue samples are taken with forceps for laboratory examination.

Hospitals typically charge $3,485 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 992 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,436. Most fall between $1,015 and $6,076 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
992
States
49
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 992 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
$672$1,354$3,485$5,385$8,772

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($672 vs $8,772).

How the prices are spread

$520 – $719: 82 hospitals$520$719 – $996: 67 hospitals$996 – $1,378: 52 hospitals$996$1,378 – $1,907: 80 hospitals$1,907 – $2,639: 94 hospitals$1,907$2,639 – $3,653: 96 hospitals$3,653 – $5,055: 181 hospitals$3,653$5,055 – $6,996: 146 hospitals$6,996 – $9,683: 66 hospitals$6,996$9,683 – $13,401: 31 hospitals$9,683median $3,485price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (895 of 992 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$520$71982
$719$99667
$996$1,37852
$1,378$1,90780
$1,907$2,63994
$2,639$3,65396
$3,653$5,055181
$5,055$6,996146
$6,996$9,68366
$9,683$13,40131

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,939
Median cash price$3,485
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.88×

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 $3,485.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $2,080 across 13 hospitalsWA$2,080Idaho: median $6,711 across 12 hospitalsID$6,711Montana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $3,125 across 25 hospitalsMN$3,125Illinois: median $1,749 across 34 hospitalsIL$1,749Wisconsin: median $4,547 across 39 hospitalsWI$4,547Michigan: median $1,076 across 35 hospitalsMI$1,076New York: median $4,502 across 48 hospitalsNY$4,502Massachusetts: median $5,623 across 29 hospitalsMA$5,623Oregon: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 6 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 $857 across 18 hospitalsIA$857Indiana: median $710 across 30 hospitalsIN$710Ohio: median $4,217 across 60 hospitalsOH$4,217Pennsylvania: median $4,145 across 56 hospitalsPA$4,145New Jersey: median $4,991 across 40 hospitalsNJ$4,991Connecticut: median $17,903 across 13 hospitalsCT$17,903Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $4,934 across 89 hospitalsCA$4,934Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $2,482 across 15 hospitalsCO$2,482Nebraska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $1,899 across 27 hospitalsMO$1,899Kentucky: median $2,479 across 13 hospitalsKY$2,479West Virginia: median $976 across 11 hospitalsWV$976Virginia: median $3,648 across 24 hospitalsVA$3,648Maryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: median $2,005 across 12 hospitalsAR$2,005Tennessee: median $2,859 across 19 hospitalsTN$2,859North Carolina: median $3,406 across 15 hospitalsNC$3,406South Carolina: median $4,087 across 21 hospitalsSC$4,087Oklahoma: median $706 across 17 hospitalsOK$706Louisiana: median $1,532 across 23 hospitalsLA$1,532Mississippi: median $3,173 across 10 hospitalsMS$3,173Alabama: median $5,355 across 17 hospitalsAL$5,355Georgia: median $3,848 across 38 hospitalsGA$3,848Hawaii: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,283 across 63 hospitalsTX$2,283Florida: median $5,257 across 35 hospitalsFL$5,257
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $3,485. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Connecticut CT13$17,903+414%$4,219 – $18,656
Idaho ID12$6,711+93%$4,000 – $8,663
Massachusetts MA29$5,623+61%$3,469 – $9,963
Alabama AL17$5,355+54%$995 – $9,279
Florida FL35$5,257+51%$2,004 – $9,620
New Jersey NJ40$4,991+43%$4,215 – $7,943
California CA89$4,934+42%$1,679 – $6,434
Wisconsin WI39$4,547+30%$1,884 – $6,026
New York NY48$4,502+29%$1,026 – $4,595
Ohio OH60$4,217+21%$2,667 – $8,719
Pennsylvania PA56$4,145+19%$1,015 – $6,432
South Carolina SC21$4,087+17%$2,305 – $4,087
Georgia GA38$3,848+10%$1,674 – $6,006
Virginia VA24$3,648+5%$1,409 – $4,234
North Carolina NC15$3,406−2%$1,440 – $3,649
Mississippi MS10$3,173−9%$1,996 – $3,173
Minnesota MN25$3,125−10%$803 – $5,253
Tennessee TN19$2,859−18%$661 – $4,337
Colorado CO15$2,482−29%$782 – $3,716
Kentucky KY13$2,479−29%$520 – $15,277
Texas TX63$2,283−34%$1,281 – $3,730
Washington WA13$2,080−40%$605 – $5,474
Arkansas AR12$2,005−42%$811 – $3,955
Missouri MO27$1,899−46%$898 – $8,500
Illinois IL34$1,749−50%$690 – $4,180
Louisiana LA23$1,532−56%$904 – $2,512
Michigan MI35$1,076−69%$776 – $3,824
West Virginia WV11$976−72%$509 – $1,461
Iowa IA18$857−75%$857 – $5,268
Indiana IN30$710−80%$520 – $6,258
Oklahoma OK17$706−80%$706 – $5,625
Oregon OR9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not 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 $3,485.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care863$3,644$1,095 – $6,076
Children’s21$3,025$1,346 – $7,571
Critical access103$1,884$710 – $5,385
Ownership
For-profit112$3,730$1,291 – $7,125
Government137$2,695$904 – $5,144
Non-profit738$3,543$1,026 – $6,076
System affiliation
Part of a system846$3,580$1,200 – $6,076
Independent146$2,566$697 – $4,991

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$5,649
Median cash price$3,485
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

651 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,784 and the average of the middle 60% is $3,012; most fall between $863 and $5,908.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 651 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
$606$1,207$2,784$5,216$6,954

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($606 vs $6,954).

Of the 693 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 651 gave a usable cash price; 24 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 18 a list price only.

How complete is this

992 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (25%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,064 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted992
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here50
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded2
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded20
Hospitals that filed this code1,064

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 Endoscopic retrograde cannulation of pancreas (ERCP) family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Ercp W/Biopsy Single/Multiple.

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, “Scope exam of bile and pancreatic ducts with biopsy (CPT 43261) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-43261-scope-exam-of-bile-and-pancreatic-ducts-with-biopsy