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Procedure price report · Procedures on the urethra

Bladder scope with stretching of a narrowed urethra

CPT 52281the billing code this page is about

A scope is passed through the urethra and the narrowed channel is measured and widened, sometimes with a small opening made at the tip of the urethra.

Hospitals typically charge $2,316 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,634 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,403. Most fall between $664 and $4,595 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,634
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 1,634 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
$360$818$2,316$4,145$6,311

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($360 vs $6,311).

How the prices are spread

$263 – $371: 93 hospitals$263$371 – $525: 86 hospitals$525 – $742: 102 hospitals$525$742 – $1,050: 118 hospitals$1,050 – $1,485: 76 hospitals$1,050$1,485 – $2,100: 185 hospitals$2,100 – $2,969: 252 hospitals$2,100$2,969 – $4,199: 243 hospitals$4,199 – $5,938: 191 hospitals$4,199$5,938 – $8,398: 126 hospitals$5,938median $2,316price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,472 of 1,634 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$263$37193
$371$52586
$525$742102
$742$1,050118
$1,050$1,48576
$1,485$2,100185
$2,100$2,969252
$2,969$4,199243
$4,199$5,938191
$5,938$8,398126

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$2,136
Median cash price$2,316
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.08×

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 $2,316.

Alaska: median $2,127 across 10 hospitalsAK$2,127Maine: median $990 across 16 hospitalsME$990Vermont: median $692 across 10 hospitalsVT$692New Hampshire: median $819 across 13 hospitalsNH$819Washington: median $2,615 across 35 hospitalsWA$2,615Idaho: median $4,181 across 11 hospitalsID$4,181Montana: median $651 across 10 hospitalsMT$651North Dakota: median $3,003 across 10 hospitalsND$3,003Minnesota: median $1,097 across 51 hospitalsMN$1,097Illinois: median $2,295 across 75 hospitalsIL$2,295Wisconsin: median $1,591 across 69 hospitalsWI$1,591Michigan: median $2,215 across 64 hospitalsMI$2,215New York: median $3,333 across 80 hospitalsNY$3,333Massachusetts: median $3,296 across 34 hospitalsMA$3,296Oregon: median $808 across 33 hospitalsOR$808Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $3,299 across 13 hospitalsSD$3,299Iowa: median $877 across 44 hospitalsIA$877Indiana: median $630 across 43 hospitalsIN$630Ohio: median $3,147 across 73 hospitalsOH$3,147Pennsylvania: median $2,470 across 67 hospitalsPA$2,470New Jersey: median $2,705 across 41 hospitalsNJ$2,705Connecticut: median $2,968 across 10 hospitalsCT$2,968Rhode Island: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $4,295 across 104 hospitalsCA$4,295Utah: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $783 across 32 hospitalsCO$783Nebraska: median $956 across 28 hospitalsNE$956Missouri: median $2,333 across 51 hospitalsMO$2,333Kentucky: median $1,266 across 24 hospitalsKY$1,266West Virginia: median $2,066 across 27 hospitalsWV$2,066Virginia: median $2,631 across 48 hospitalsVA$2,631Maryland: 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 $2,565 across 13 hospitalsAZ$2,565New Mexico: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $895 across 31 hospitalsKS$895Arkansas: median $1,800 across 14 hospitalsAR$1,800Tennessee: median $609 across 33 hospitalsTN$609North Carolina: median $562 across 31 hospitalsNC$562South Carolina: median $4,831 across 32 hospitalsSC$4,831Oklahoma: median $1,707 across 34 hospitalsOK$1,707Louisiana: median $2,237 across 27 hospitalsLA$2,237Mississippi: median $1,048 across 30 hospitalsMS$1,048Alabama: median $2,524 across 21 hospitalsAL$2,524Georgia: median $2,252 across 52 hospitalsGA$2,252Hawaii: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $3,398 across 88 hospitalsTX$3,398Florida: median $3,950 across 58 hospitalsFL$3,950
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,316. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Carolina SC32$4,831+109%$873 – $5,048
California CA104$4,295+85%$1,756 – $6,311
Idaho ID11$4,181+81%$657 – $5,304
Florida FL58$3,950+71%$1,779 – $6,759
Texas TX88$3,398+47%$968 – $4,632
New York NY80$3,333+44%$1,218 – $4,595
South Dakota SD13$3,299+42%$1,229 – $4,713
Massachusetts MA34$3,296+42%$1,966 – $5,559
Ohio OH73$3,147+36%$1,619 – $6,125
North Dakota ND10$3,003+30%$1,230 – $3,338
Connecticut CT10$2,968+28%$2,055 – $4,040
New Jersey NJ41$2,705+17%$2,267 – $5,110
Virginia VA48$2,631+14%$1,289 – $3,016
Washington WA35$2,615+13%$608 – $3,986
Arizona AZ13$2,565+11%$632 – $11,788
Alabama AL21$2,524+9%$1,880 – $5,403
Pennsylvania PA67$2,470+7%$1,752 – $4,733
Missouri MO51$2,333+1%$1,509 – $6,745
Illinois IL75$2,295−1%$751 – $4,425
Georgia GA52$2,252−3%$1,789 – $3,543
Louisiana LA27$2,237−3%$985 – $3,336
Michigan MI64$2,215−4%$330 – $3,360
Alaska AK10$2,127−8%$966 – $4,160
West Virginia WV27$2,066−11%$251 – $2,763
Arkansas AR14$1,800−22%$580 – $3,242
Oklahoma OK34$1,707−26%$387 – $3,756
Wisconsin WI69$1,591−31%$707 – $3,395
Kentucky KY24$1,266−45%$328 – $4,664
Minnesota MN51$1,097−53%$552 – $2,274
Mississippi MS30$1,048−55%$654 – $1,859
Maine ME16$990−57%$270 – $2,423
Nebraska NE28$956−59%$608 – $2,561
Kansas KS31$895−61%$390 – $2,217
Iowa IA44$877−62%$350 – $3,654
New Hampshire NH13$819−65%$173 – $2,081
Oregon OR33$808−65%$348 – $4,995
Colorado CO32$783−66%$358 – $2,705
Vermont VT10$692−70%$388 – $3,235
Montana MT10$651−72%$336 – $1,362
Indiana IN43$630−73%$204 – $4,342
Tennessee TN33$609−74%$437 – $3,211
North Carolina NC31$562−76%$360 – $5,554
Hawaii HI9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT2not 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 $2,316.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,272$2,634$874 – $5,048
Children’s18fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access341$863$351 – $2,763
Ownership
For-profit157$3,371$1,316 – $6,855
Government263$1,685$415 – $3,239
Non-profit1,211$2,423$707 – $4,713
System affiliation
Part of a system1,335$2,429$766 – $4,768
Independent299$1,668$415 – $3,562

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,048
Median cash price$2,316
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

1,114 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,360 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,423; most fall between $707 and $4,295.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,114 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
$382$867$2,360$3,950$5,849

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($382 vs $5,849).

Of the 1,206 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,114 gave a usable cash price; 34 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 58 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,634 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (41%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,783 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,634
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here82
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded9
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded58
Hospitals that filed this code1,783

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 Procedures on the urethra family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Cysto Calibration Dilat Urtl Strix/Stenosis.

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, “Bladder scope with stretching of a narrowed urethra (CPT 52281) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-52281-bladder-scope-with-stretching-of-a-narrowed-urethra