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Procedure price report · Other gastrointestinal diagnostic procedures

Contrast injection to check an existing drainage catheter

CPT 49424the billing code this page is about

Injection of contrast through a drainage tube already in place so the abscess or cyst cavity can be assessed on imaging.

Hospitals typically charge $430 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,758 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $472. Most fall between $188 and $937 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,758
States
50
Filings dated
Feb 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 1,758 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
$105$224$430$788$1,409

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($105 vs $1,409).

How the prices are spread

$71 – $99: 67 hospitals$71$99 – $137: 88 hospitals$137 – $191: 113 hospitals$137$191 – $265: 172 hospitals$265 – $368: 233 hospitals$265$368 – $511: 241 hospitals$511 – $710: 247 hospitals$511$710 – $987: 193 hospitals$987 – $1,372: 133 hospitals$987$1,372 – $1,906: 101 hospitals$1,372median $430price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,588 of 1,758 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$71$9967
$99$13788
$137$191113
$191$265172
$265$368233
$368$511241
$511$710247
$710$987193
$987$1,372133
$1,372$1,906101

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $430.

Alaska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 5 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 $419 across 45 hospitalsWA$419Idaho: median $362 across 14 hospitalsID$362Montana: median $285 across 16 hospitalsMT$285North Dakota: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $328 across 51 hospitalsMN$328Illinois: median $526 across 81 hospitalsIL$526Wisconsin: median $580 across 67 hospitalsWI$580Michigan: median $420 across 61 hospitalsMI$420New York: median $450 across 67 hospitalsNY$450Massachusetts: median $223 across 33 hospitalsMA$223Oregon: median $544 across 35 hospitalsOR$544Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $467 across 29 hospitalsIA$467Indiana: median $617 across 49 hospitalsIN$617Ohio: median $430 across 102 hospitalsOH$430Pennsylvania: median $640 across 80 hospitalsPA$640New Jersey: median $1,233 across 38 hospitalsNJ$1,233Connecticut: median $527 across 20 hospitalsCT$527Rhode Island: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $770 across 148 hospitalsCA$770Utah: median $295 across 27 hospitalsUT$295Colorado: median $541 across 41 hospitalsCO$541Nebraska: median $337 across 24 hospitalsNE$337Missouri: median $626 across 41 hospitalsMO$626Kentucky: median $958 across 19 hospitalsKY$958West Virginia: median $520 across 10 hospitalsWV$520Virginia: median $191 across 36 hospitalsVA$191Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $348 across 33 hospitalsAZ$348New Mexico: median $355 across 11 hospitalsNM$355Kansas: median $514 across 10 hospitalsKS$514Arkansas: median $321 across 20 hospitalsAR$321Tennessee: median $146 across 34 hospitalsTN$146North Carolina: median $121 across 39 hospitalsNC$121South Carolina: median $319 across 31 hospitalsSC$319Oklahoma: median $218 across 26 hospitalsOK$218Louisiana: median $158 across 25 hospitalsLA$158Mississippi: median $415 across 22 hospitalsMS$415Alabama: median $239 across 20 hospitalsAL$239Georgia: median $447 across 58 hospitalsGA$447Hawaii: median $313 across 11 hospitalsHI$313Texas: median $320 across 137 hospitalsTX$320Florida: median $684 across 77 hospitalsFL$684
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $430. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ38$1,233+187%$155 – $4,881
Kentucky KY19$958+123%$248 – $1,422
California CA148$770+79%$189 – $1,213
Florida FL77$684+59%$317 – $1,570
Pennsylvania PA80$640+49%$226 – $1,304
Missouri MO41$626+46%$325 – $1,446
Indiana IN49$617+44%$272 – $905
Wisconsin WI67$580+35%$337 – $684
Oregon OR35$544+27%$110 – $923
Colorado CO41$541+26%$300 – $957
Connecticut CT20$527+23%$264 – $630
Illinois IL81$526+23%$199 – $1,004
West Virginia WV10$520+21%$108 – $616
Kansas KS10$514+20%$178 – $537
Iowa IA29$467+9%$191 – $659
New York NY67$450+5%$105 – $2,479
Georgia GA58$447+4%$317 – $639
Ohio OH102$4300%$345 – $757
Michigan MI61$420−2%$197 – $831
Washington WA45$419−2%$257 – $732
Mississippi MS22$415−4%$233 – $787
Idaho ID14$362−16%$157 – $1,090
New Mexico NM11$355−17%$200 – $384
Arizona AZ33$348−19%$136 – $1,599
Nebraska NE24$337−22%$265 – $555
Minnesota MN51$328−24%$172 – $788
Arkansas AR20$321−25%$234 – $446
Texas TX137$320−25%$192 – $731
South Carolina SC31$319−26%$319 – $734
Hawaii HI11$313−27%$228 – $493
Utah UT27$295−31%$295 – $348
Montana MT16$285−34%$224 – $483
Alabama AL20$239−44%$157 – $569
Massachusetts MA33$223−48%$92 – $808
Oklahoma OK26$218−49%$100 – $523
Virginia VA36$191−56%$124 – $315
Louisiana LA25$158−63%$53 – $427
Tennessee TN34$146−66%$44 – $223
North Carolina NC39$121−72%$84 – $398
South Dakota SD9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not 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 $430.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,519$434$186 – $955
Children’s45$425$147 – $1,344
Critical access186$388$200 – $788
Ownership
For-profit171$463$190 – $1,141
Government208$321$136 – $670
Non-profit1,371$447$192 – $950
System affiliation
Part of a system1,531$450$197 – $950
Independent227$317$125 – $775

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$779
Median cash price$430
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

1,398 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $434 and the average of the middle 60% is $487; most fall between $191 and $950.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,398 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
$104$228$434$808$1,366

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($104 vs $1,366).

Of the 1,515 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,398 gave a usable cash price; 42 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 74 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,758 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (44%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,960 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,758
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here66
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded2
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded129
Hospitals that filed this code1,960

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • 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 gastrointestinal diagnostic procedures family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Cntrst Njx Assmt Absc/Cst via Drg Cath/Tube 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, “Contrast injection to check an existing drainage catheter (CPT 49424) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-49424-contrast-injection-to-check-an-existing-drainage-catheter