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Procedure price report · Colonoscopy and biopsy

Colonoscopy through a surgical opening, diagnostic

CPT 44388the billing code this page is about

A flexible scope is passed through a colostomy opening in the abdominal wall to examine the colon, with or without brushings or washings for testing.

Hospitals typically charge $1,190 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,383 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,335. Most fall between $550 and $2,588 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,383
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – 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 1,383 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
$353$688$1,190$2,221$3,550

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 10× what the cheapest tenth charges ($353 vs $3,550).

How the prices are spread

$284 – $375: 77 hospitals$284$375 – $494: 90 hospitals$494 – $652: 87 hospitals$494$652 – $860: 145 hospitals$860 – $1,135: 197 hospitals$860$1,135 – $1,497: 138 hospitals$1,497 – $1,975: 162 hospitals$1,497$1,975 – $2,606: 142 hospitals$2,606 – $3,438: 127 hospitals$2,606$3,438 – $4,536: 80 hospitals$3,438median $1,190price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,245 of 1,383 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$284$37577
$375$49490
$494$65287
$652$860145
$860$1,135197
$1,135$1,497138
$1,497$1,975162
$1,975$2,606142
$2,606$3,438127
$3,438$4,53680

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$950
Median cash price$1,190
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.25×

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 $1,190.

Alaska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $581 across 11 hospitalsME$581Vermont: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $478 across 15 hospitalsNH$478Washington: median $970 across 33 hospitalsWA$970Idaho: median $1,750 across 17 hospitalsID$1,750Montana: median $716 across 15 hospitalsMT$716North Dakota: median $1,814 across 13 hospitalsND$1,814Minnesota: median $1,060 across 60 hospitalsMN$1,060Illinois: median $1,046 across 44 hospitalsIL$1,046Wisconsin: median $1,604 across 43 hospitalsWI$1,604Michigan: median $831 across 46 hospitalsMI$831New York: median $950 across 50 hospitalsNY$950Massachusetts: median $1,964 across 31 hospitalsMA$1,964Oregon: median $757 across 27 hospitalsOR$757Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $746 across 43 hospitalsIA$746Indiana: median $924 across 35 hospitalsIN$924Ohio: median $2,286 across 80 hospitalsOH$2,286Pennsylvania: median $1,472 across 71 hospitalsPA$1,472New Jersey: median $1,217 across 39 hospitalsNJ$1,217Connecticut: median $2,288 across 12 hospitalsCT$2,288Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $2,184 across 88 hospitalsCA$2,184Utah: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $1,283 across 26 hospitalsCO$1,283Nebraska: median $1,125 across 28 hospitalsNE$1,125Missouri: median $1,141 across 44 hospitalsMO$1,141Kentucky: median $520 across 20 hospitalsKY$520West Virginia: median $822 across 23 hospitalsWV$822Virginia: median $1,131 across 22 hospitalsVA$1,131Maryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,845 across 13 hospitalsAZ$1,845New Mexico: median $1,980 across 20 hospitalsNM$1,980Kansas: median $760 across 33 hospitalsKS$760Arkansas: median $505 across 11 hospitalsAR$505Tennessee: median $1,261 across 24 hospitalsTN$1,261North Carolina: median $1,272 across 21 hospitalsNC$1,272South Carolina: median $1,925 across 24 hospitalsSC$1,925Oklahoma: median $379 across 23 hospitalsOK$379Louisiana: median $575 across 30 hospitalsLA$575Mississippi: median $966 across 23 hospitalsMS$966Alabama: median $1,576 across 22 hospitalsAL$1,576Georgia: median $1,009 across 34 hospitalsGA$1,009Hawaii: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $1,763 across 68 hospitalsTX$1,763Florida: median $2,606 across 38 hospitalsFL$2,606
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,190. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL38$2,606+119%$1,206 – $3,408
Connecticut CT12$2,288+92%$1,276 – $3,225
Ohio OH80$2,286+92%$875 – $2,729
California CA88$2,184+84%$952 – $4,284
New Mexico NM20$1,980+66%$831 – $3,310
Massachusetts MA31$1,964+65%$1,281 – $2,721
South Carolina SC24$1,925+62%$1,625 – $1,940
Arizona AZ13$1,845+55%$928 – $5,500
North Dakota ND13$1,814+52%$580 – $2,118
Texas TX68$1,763+48%$482 – $2,157
Idaho ID17$1,750+47%$756 – $2,509
Wisconsin WI43$1,604+35%$966 – $2,114
Alabama AL22$1,576+32%$825 – $6,050
Pennsylvania PA71$1,472+24%$482 – $3,236
Colorado CO26$1,283+8%$863 – $1,931
North Carolina NC21$1,272+7%$839 – $2,218
Tennessee TN24$1,261+6%$544 – $1,589
New Jersey NJ39$1,217+2%$1,058 – $5,339
Missouri MO44$1,141−4%$510 – $2,791
Virginia VA22$1,131−5%$1,121 – $3,479
Nebraska NE28$1,125−5%$742 – $2,503
Minnesota MN60$1,060−11%$516 – $1,730
Illinois IL44$1,046−12%$473 – $2,588
Georgia GA34$1,009−15%$778 – $1,997
Washington WA33$970−18%$508 – $2,408
Mississippi MS23$966−19%$701 – $1,611
New York NY50$950−20%$404 – $1,161
Indiana IN35$924−22%$343 – $1,418
Michigan MI46$831−30%$518 – $1,612
West Virginia WV23$822−31%$260 – $2,197
Kansas KS33$760−36%$400 – $1,148
Oregon OR27$757−36%$574 – $1,124
Iowa IA43$746−37%$465 – $1,070
Montana MT15$716−40%$301 – $1,361
Maine ME11$581−51%$399 – $919
Louisiana LA30$575−52%$397 – $1,067
Kentucky KY20$520−56%$318 – $3,661
Arkansas AR11$505−58%$505 – $1,307
New Hampshire NH15$478−60%$181 – $1,379
Oklahoma OK23$379−68%$379 – $2,087
Vermont VT9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not 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 $1,190.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care994$1,323$657 – $2,847
Children’s17fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access367$861$433 – $1,791
Ownership
For-profit147$1,454$800 – $3,273
Government275$1,018$460 – $2,069
Non-profit956$1,203$563 – $2,682
System affiliation
Part of a system1,093$1,279$622 – $2,726
Independent290$915$398 – $1,842

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,317
Median cash price$1,190
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

809 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,266 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,355; most fall between $520 and $2,532.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 809 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
$347$646$1,266$2,218$3,380

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($347 vs $3,380).

Of the 884 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 809 gave a usable cash price; 25 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 50 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,383 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (35%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,490 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,383
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here53
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded49
Hospitals that filed this code1,490

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 Colonoscopy and biopsy family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Colonoscopy Stoma Dx Including Collj Spec Spx.

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, “Colonoscopy through a surgical opening, diagnostic (CPT 44388) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-44388-colonoscopy-through-a-surgical-opening-diagnostic