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Procedure price report · Other CT scan

CT scan of the mid-back spine without contrast

CPT 72128the billing code this page is about

A computed tomography scan of the thoracic spine (mid-back vertebrae) performed without injected contrast dye.

Hospitals typically charge $1,276 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 3,343 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,343. Most fall between $596 and $2,396 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
3,343
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 3,343 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
$372$714$1,276$2,113$3,358

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.0× what the cheapest tenth charges ($372 vs $3,358).

How the prices are spread

$196 – $275: 66 hospitals$196$275 – $386: 125 hospitals$386 – $541: 239 hospitals$386$541 – $759: 313 hospitals$759 – $1,064: 451 hospitals$759$1,064 – $1,492: 600 hospitals$1,492 – $2,093: 531 hospitals$1,492$2,093 – $2,935: 394 hospitals$2,935 – $4,116: 207 hospitals$2,935$4,116 – $5,772: 83 hospitals$4,116median $1,276price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (3,009 of 3,343 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$196$27566
$275$386125
$386$541239
$541$759313
$759$1,064451
$1,064$1,492600
$1,492$2,093531
$2,093$2,935394
$2,935$4,116207
$4,116$5,77283

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$107
Median cash price$1,276
Cash as a multiple of Medicare11.9×

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 $1,276.

Alaska: median $2,560 across 17 hospitalsAK$2,560Maine: median $641 across 25 hospitalsME$641Vermont: median $1,778 across 12 hospitalsVT$1,778New Hampshire: median $1,240 across 21 hospitalsNH$1,240Washington: median $1,324 across 70 hospitalsWA$1,324Idaho: median $819 across 22 hospitalsID$819Montana: median $1,278 across 19 hospitalsMT$1,278North Dakota: median $1,279 across 31 hospitalsND$1,279Minnesota: median $1,219 across 100 hospitalsMN$1,219Illinois: median $2,091 across 135 hospitalsIL$2,091Wisconsin: median $1,238 across 108 hospitalsWI$1,238Michigan: median $1,119 across 85 hospitalsMI$1,119New York: median $834 across 99 hospitalsNY$834Massachusetts: median $1,407 across 52 hospitalsMA$1,407Oregon: median $1,148 across 46 hospitalsOR$1,148Nevada: median $1,443 across 21 hospitalsNV$1,443Wyoming: median $1,890 across 14 hospitalsWY$1,890South Dakota: median $2,584 across 42 hospitalsSD$2,584Iowa: median $1,413 across 87 hospitalsIA$1,413Indiana: median $743 across 96 hospitalsIN$743Ohio: median $924 across 142 hospitalsOH$924Pennsylvania: median $896 across 114 hospitalsPA$896New Jersey: median $377 across 57 hospitalsNJ$377Connecticut: median $1,041 across 22 hospitalsCT$1,041Rhode Island: median $970 across 10 hospitalsRI$970California: median $2,525 across 215 hospitalsCA$2,525Utah: median $1,605 across 43 hospitalsUT$1,605Colorado: median $1,384 across 66 hospitalsCO$1,384Nebraska: median $2,307 across 84 hospitalsNE$2,307Missouri: median $935 across 76 hospitalsMO$935Kentucky: median $1,388 across 67 hospitalsKY$1,388West Virginia: median $862 across 42 hospitalsWV$862Virginia: median $1,254 across 71 hospitalsVA$1,254Maryland: median $177 across 37 hospitalsMD$177Delaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,116 across 53 hospitalsAZ$1,116New Mexico: median $1,151 across 29 hospitalsNM$1,151Kansas: median $1,100 across 87 hospitalsKS$1,100Arkansas: median $585 across 38 hospitalsAR$585Tennessee: median $710 across 78 hospitalsTN$710North Carolina: median $1,345 across 95 hospitalsNC$1,345South Carolina: median $1,581 across 52 hospitalsSC$1,581Oklahoma: median $1,013 across 71 hospitalsOK$1,013Louisiana: median $751 across 56 hospitalsLA$751Mississippi: median $811 across 49 hospitalsMS$811Alabama: median $1,113 across 42 hospitalsAL$1,113Georgia: median $1,062 across 108 hospitalsGA$1,062Hawaii: median $1,167 across 17 hospitalsHI$1,167Texas: median $1,890 across 242 hospitalsTX$1,890Florida: median $3,013 across 172 hospitalsFL$3,013
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,276. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL172$3,013+136%$1,175 – $9,834
South Dakota SD42$2,584+103%$2,133 – $3,411
Alaska AK17$2,560+101%$1,222 – $3,147
California CA215$2,525+98%$1,115 – $4,323
Nebraska NE84$2,307+81%$1,454 – $2,665
Illinois IL135$2,091+64%$785 – $2,812
Texas TX242$1,890+48%$877 – $3,708
Wyoming WY14$1,890+48%$647 – $2,574
Vermont VT12$1,778+39%$1,045 – $2,712
Utah UT43$1,605+26%$1,370 – $1,858
South Carolina SC52$1,581+24%$1,050 – $2,037
Nevada NV21$1,443+13%$571 – $2,171
Iowa IA87$1,413+11%$1,137 – $1,880
Massachusetts MA52$1,407+10%$550 – $1,980
Kentucky KY67$1,388+9%$804 – $2,567
Colorado CO66$1,384+9%$851 – $2,240
North Carolina NC95$1,345+5%$763 – $1,782
Washington WA70$1,324+4%$643 – $1,746
North Dakota ND31$1,2790%$970 – $1,469
Montana MT19$1,2780%$958 – $1,744
Virginia VA71$1,254−2%$725 – $2,920
New Hampshire NH21$1,240−3%$933 – $2,827
Wisconsin WI108$1,238−3%$451 – $1,643
Minnesota MN100$1,219−4%$533 – $1,697
Hawaii HI17$1,167−9%$956 – $1,591
New Mexico NM29$1,151−10%$617 – $2,100
Oregon OR46$1,148−10%$920 – $1,670
Michigan MI85$1,119−12%$338 – $2,092
Arizona AZ53$1,116−12%$437 – $7,381
Alabama AL42$1,113−13%$600 – $2,427
Kansas KS87$1,100−14%$663 – $1,720
Georgia GA108$1,062−17%$684 – $1,796
Connecticut CT22$1,041−18%$467 – $1,339
Oklahoma OK71$1,013−21%$560 – $1,523
Rhode Island RI10$970−24%$180 – $1,230
Missouri MO76$935−27%$732 – $1,899
Ohio OH142$924−28%$639 – $1,464
Pennsylvania PA114$896−30%$287 – $2,088
West Virginia WV42$862−32%$630 – $1,649
New York NY99$834−35%$131 – $2,043
Idaho ID22$819−36%$720 – $1,357
Mississippi MS49$811−36%$483 – $1,195
Louisiana LA56$751−41%$375 – $1,422
Indiana IN96$743−42%$406 – $1,536
Tennessee TN78$710−44%$526 – $1,707
Maine ME25$641−50%$313 – $1,267
Arkansas AR38$585−54%$384 – $1,399
New Jersey NJ57$377−70%$125 – $560
Maryland MD37$177−86%$123 – $237
Delaware DE6not 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 $1,276.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,351$1,209$532 – $2,470
Children’s62$2,205$1,222 – $3,483
Critical access920$1,332$752 – $2,161
Ownership
For-profit486$1,979$720 – $7,381
Government608$1,208$657 – $2,035
Non-profit2,239$1,216$552 – $2,241
System affiliation
Part of a system2,748$1,296$595 – $2,451
Independent595$1,200$600 – $2,099

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,181
Median cash price$1,276
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. 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

2,278 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,330 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,376; most fall between $652 and $2,365.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 2,278 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
$432$780$1,330$2,111$3,224

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.5× what the cheapest tenth charges ($432 vs $3,224).

Of the 2,521 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 2,278 gave a usable cash price; 133 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 110 a list price only.

How complete is this

3,343 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (85%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 3,697 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted3,343
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here232
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded121
Hospitals that filed this code3,697

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 July 20, 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 CT scan family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as CT Thoracic Spine W/O Contrast Material|PROFESSIONAL COMPONENT.

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, “CT scan of the mid-back spine without contrast (CPT 72128) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-72128-ct-scan-of-the-mid-back-spine-without-contrast