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Procedure price report · Myelogram

Lower back spine dye study with injection and imaging

CPT 62304the billing code this page is about

Contrast is injected through a needle in the lower back and X-ray images of the lumbar and sacral spinal canal are taken and interpreted.

Hospitals typically charge $1,589 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,117 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,643. Most fall between $829 and $2,782 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,117
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 2,117 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
$557$935$1,589$2,373$3,635

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.5× what the cheapest tenth charges ($557 vs $3,635).

How the prices are spread

$366 – $473: 71 hospitals$366$473 – $611: 72 hospitals$611 – $790: 145 hospitals$611$790 – $1,022: 205 hospitals$1,022 – $1,321: 262 hospitals$1,022$1,321 – $1,708: 258 hospitals$1,708 – $2,208: 352 hospitals$1,708$2,208 – $2,855: 261 hospitals$2,855 – $3,691: 181 hospitals$2,855$3,691 – $4,772: 100 hospitals$3,691median $1,589price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,907 of 2,117 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$366$47371
$473$61172
$611$790145
$790$1,022205
$1,022$1,321262
$1,321$1,708258
$1,708$2,208352
$2,208$2,855261
$2,855$3,691181
$3,691$4,772100

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$801
Median cash price$1,589
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.98×

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 $1,589.

Alaska: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $1,016 across 10 hospitalsME$1,016Vermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $802 across 11 hospitalsNH$802Washington: median $1,586 across 48 hospitalsWA$1,586Idaho: median $1,871 across 14 hospitalsID$1,871Montana: median $400 across 16 hospitalsMT$400North Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,213 across 61 hospitalsMN$1,213Illinois: median $1,454 across 90 hospitalsIL$1,454Wisconsin: median $1,509 across 83 hospitalsWI$1,509Michigan: median $1,276 across 69 hospitalsMI$1,276New York: median $1,100 across 74 hospitalsNY$1,100Massachusetts: median $1,425 across 28 hospitalsMA$1,425Oregon: median $1,688 across 36 hospitalsOR$1,688Nevada: median $852 across 15 hospitalsNV$852Wyoming: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $1,932 across 11 hospitalsSD$1,932Iowa: median $1,553 across 31 hospitalsIA$1,553Indiana: median $2,077 across 70 hospitalsIN$2,077Ohio: median $2,333 across 117 hospitalsOH$2,333Pennsylvania: median $1,263 across 91 hospitalsPA$1,263New Jersey: median $1,054 across 52 hospitalsNJ$1,054Connecticut: median $1,278 across 13 hospitalsCT$1,278Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,794 across 151 hospitalsCA$1,794Utah: median $1,923 across 27 hospitalsUT$1,923Colorado: median $1,864 across 49 hospitalsCO$1,864Nebraska: median $1,300 across 33 hospitalsNE$1,300Missouri: median $2,046 across 51 hospitalsMO$2,046Kentucky: median $1,089 across 36 hospitalsKY$1,089West Virginia: median $1,581 across 16 hospitalsWV$1,581Virginia: median $2,058 across 44 hospitalsVA$2,058Maryland: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $959 across 37 hospitalsAZ$959New Mexico: median $1,328 across 12 hospitalsNM$1,328Kansas: median $2,845 across 31 hospitalsKS$2,845Arkansas: median $671 across 22 hospitalsAR$671Tennessee: median $558 across 49 hospitalsTN$558North Carolina: median $1,398 across 55 hospitalsNC$1,398South Carolina: median $2,369 across 37 hospitalsSC$2,369Oklahoma: median $1,029 across 41 hospitalsOK$1,029Louisiana: median $1,080 across 37 hospitalsLA$1,080Mississippi: median $827 across 40 hospitalsMS$827Alabama: median $1,352 across 33 hospitalsAL$1,352Georgia: median $1,795 across 70 hospitalsGA$1,795Hawaii: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $1,811 across 147 hospitalsTX$1,811Florida: median $2,075 across 96 hospitalsFL$2,075
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,589. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Kansas KS31$2,845+79%$1,587 – $4,772
South Carolina SC37$2,369+49%$1,141 – $2,530
Ohio OH117$2,333+47%$1,452 – $3,543
Indiana IN70$2,077+31%$1,081 – $2,704
Florida FL96$2,075+31%$1,315 – $3,073
Virginia VA44$2,058+30%$1,113 – $2,841
Missouri MO51$2,046+29%$781 – $2,817
South Dakota SD11$1,932+22%$1,932 – $4,648
Utah UT27$1,923+21%$1,923 – $2,262
Idaho ID14$1,871+18%$1,201 – $1,923
Colorado CO49$1,864+17%$972 – $2,371
Texas TX147$1,811+14%$1,300 – $3,442
Georgia GA70$1,795+13%$1,364 – $3,113
California CA151$1,794+13%$1,086 – $3,950
Oregon OR36$1,688+6%$1,047 – $2,293
Washington WA48$1,5860%$1,120 – $2,129
West Virginia WV16$1,581−1%$903 – $2,211
Iowa IA31$1,553−2%$859 – $2,084
Wisconsin WI83$1,509−5%$876 – $1,905
Illinois IL90$1,454−8%$667 – $2,825
Massachusetts MA28$1,425−10%$972 – $2,976
North Carolina NC55$1,398−12%$674 – $2,084
Alabama AL33$1,352−15%$795 – $2,475
New Mexico NM12$1,328−16%$855 – $2,233
Nebraska NE33$1,300−18%$720 – $2,183
Connecticut CT13$1,278−20%$814 – $3,473
Michigan MI69$1,276−20%$573 – $2,576
Pennsylvania PA91$1,263−20%$926 – $2,026
Minnesota MN61$1,213−24%$723 – $2,250
New York NY74$1,100−31%$581 – $2,340
Kentucky KY36$1,089−31%$633 – $3,172
Louisiana LA37$1,080−32%$666 – $2,289
New Jersey NJ52$1,054−34%$874 – $4,627
Oklahoma OK41$1,029−35%$749 – $2,042
Maine ME10$1,016−36%$715 – $1,961
Arizona AZ37$959−40%$653 – $6,137
Nevada NV15$852−46%$376 – $2,722
Mississippi MS40$827−48%$438 – $1,091
New Hampshire NH11$802−49%$142 – $1,288
Arkansas AR22$671−58%$562 – $1,766
Tennessee TN49$558−65%$396 – $1,174
Montana MT16$400−75%$222 – $731
Alaska AK9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not 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 $1,589.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,780$1,619$852 – $2,816
Children’s32$1,586$893 – $3,258
Critical access296$1,452$625 – $2,391
Ownership
For-profit231$1,747$888 – $3,113
Government287$1,504$758 – $2,370
Non-profit1,590$1,589$833 – $2,786
System affiliation
Part of a system1,781$1,656$867 – $2,816
Independent336$1,328$611 – $2,537

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,816
Median cash price$1,589
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

1,614 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,794 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,763; most fall between $923 and $2,816.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,614 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
$611$1,070$1,794$2,478$3,555

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($611 vs $3,555).

Of the 1,732 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,614 gave a usable cash price; 48 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 69 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,117 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (54%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,278 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,117
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here77
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded78
Hospitals that filed this code2,278

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 Myelogram family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Myelography via Lumbar Inject Rs&I Lumbosacral.

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, “Lower back spine dye study with injection and imaging (CPT 62304) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-62304-lower-back-spine-dye-study-with-injection-and-imaging