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Procedure price report · Radioisotope scan and function studies

Gallbladder and bile duct nuclear scan with medication

CPT 78227the billing code this page is about

A nuclear scan of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder in which a drug is given during the study to stimulate the gallbladder or bile flow, with measurements taken if performed.

Hospitals typically charge $1,549 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,935 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,560. Most fall between $799 and $2,473 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,935
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 2,935 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
$558$925$1,549$2,236$3,666

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.6× what the cheapest tenth charges ($558 vs $3,666).

How the prices are spread

$410 – $528: 118 hospitals$410$528 – $680: 195 hospitals$680 – $877: 213 hospitals$680$877 – $1,129: 285 hospitals$1,129 – $1,455: 410 hospitals$1,129$1,455 – $1,874: 484 hospitals$1,874 – $2,414: 469 hospitals$1,874$2,414 – $3,110: 226 hospitals$3,110 – $4,007: 153 hospitals$3,110$4,007 – $5,161: 90 hospitals$4,007median $1,549price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,643 of 2,935 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$410$528118
$528$680195
$680$877213
$877$1,129285
$1,129$1,455410
$1,455$1,874484
$1,874$2,414469
$2,414$3,110226
$3,110$4,007153
$4,007$5,16190

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$555
Median cash price$1,549
Cash as a multiple of Medicare2.8×

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 $1,549.

Alaska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $892 across 23 hospitalsME$892Vermont: median $1,860 across 10 hospitalsVT$1,860New Hampshire: median $2,000 across 18 hospitalsNH$2,000Washington: median $1,351 across 56 hospitalsWA$1,351Idaho: median $1,761 across 17 hospitalsID$1,761Montana: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: median $1,970 across 23 hospitalsND$1,970Minnesota: median $1,379 across 94 hospitalsMN$1,379Illinois: median $1,841 across 118 hospitalsIL$1,841Wisconsin: median $1,587 across 105 hospitalsWI$1,587Michigan: median $1,241 across 80 hospitalsMI$1,241New York: median $1,095 across 88 hospitalsNY$1,095Massachusetts: median $1,717 across 49 hospitalsMA$1,717Oregon: median $1,474 across 39 hospitalsOR$1,474Nevada: median $1,623 across 16 hospitalsNV$1,623Wyoming: median $1,737 across 13 hospitalsWY$1,737South Dakota: median $2,279 across 28 hospitalsSD$2,279Iowa: median $1,425 across 80 hospitalsIA$1,425Indiana: median $1,263 across 83 hospitalsIN$1,263Ohio: median $1,973 across 137 hospitalsOH$1,973Pennsylvania: median $1,359 across 108 hospitalsPA$1,359New Jersey: median $700 across 55 hospitalsNJ$700Connecticut: median $1,181 across 19 hospitalsCT$1,181Rhode Island: median $721 across 10 hospitalsRI$721California: median $2,094 across 195 hospitalsCA$2,094Utah: median $1,925 across 37 hospitalsUT$1,925Colorado: median $2,102 across 56 hospitalsCO$2,102Nebraska: median $1,938 across 74 hospitalsNE$1,938Missouri: median $1,273 across 71 hospitalsMO$1,273Kentucky: median $1,454 across 61 hospitalsKY$1,454West Virginia: median $1,142 across 33 hospitalsWV$1,142Virginia: median $1,601 across 70 hospitalsVA$1,601Maryland: median $2,452 across 37 hospitalsMD$2,452Delaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,566 across 44 hospitalsAZ$1,566New Mexico: median $1,122 across 22 hospitalsNM$1,122Kansas: median $1,043 across 59 hospitalsKS$1,043Arkansas: median $652 across 25 hospitalsAR$652Tennessee: median $753 across 75 hospitalsTN$753North Carolina: median $1,563 across 87 hospitalsNC$1,563South Carolina: median $1,736 across 51 hospitalsSC$1,736Oklahoma: median $1,186 across 43 hospitalsOK$1,186Louisiana: median $722 across 48 hospitalsLA$722Mississippi: median $650 across 42 hospitalsMS$650Alabama: median $1,140 across 36 hospitalsAL$1,140Georgia: median $1,280 across 91 hospitalsGA$1,280Hawaii: median $1,117 across 11 hospitalsHI$1,117Texas: median $1,864 across 209 hospitalsTX$1,864Florida: median $2,473 across 168 hospitalsFL$2,473
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,549. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL168$2,473+60%$1,119 – $7,859
Maryland MD37$2,452+58%$1,648 – $2,976
South Dakota SD28$2,279+47%$1,696 – $3,106
Colorado CO56$2,102+36%$1,389 – $3,156
California CA195$2,094+35%$991 – $3,868
New Hampshire NH18$2,000+29%$1,564 – $3,321
Ohio OH137$1,973+27%$1,067 – $2,489
North Dakota ND23$1,970+27%$1,112 – $2,146
Nebraska NE74$1,938+25%$1,372 – $2,331
Utah UT37$1,925+24%$1,637 – $2,012
Texas TX209$1,864+20%$1,037 – $3,905
Vermont VT10$1,860+20%$1,512 – $2,964
Illinois IL118$1,841+19%$1,079 – $3,003
Idaho ID17$1,761+14%$1,235 – $1,885
Wyoming WY13$1,737+12%$865 – $2,581
South Carolina SC51$1,736+12%$1,167 – $2,875
Massachusetts MA49$1,717+11%$1,123 – $2,122
Nevada NV16$1,623+5%$1,252 – $5,184
Virginia VA70$1,601+3%$1,361 – $3,087
Wisconsin WI105$1,587+2%$560 – $2,128
Arizona AZ44$1,566+1%$521 – $3,944
North Carolina NC87$1,563+1%$1,236 – $2,207
Oregon OR39$1,474−5%$1,082 – $2,311
Kentucky KY61$1,454−6%$966 – $2,365
Iowa IA80$1,425−8%$1,143 – $1,735
Minnesota MN94$1,379−11%$723 – $1,854
Pennsylvania PA108$1,359−12%$642 – $2,655
Washington WA56$1,351−13%$1,084 – $1,987
Georgia GA91$1,280−17%$693 – $2,067
Missouri MO71$1,273−18%$841 – $2,151
Indiana IN83$1,263−18%$571 – $2,129
Michigan MI80$1,241−20%$716 – $1,751
Oklahoma OK43$1,186−23%$680 – $1,774
Connecticut CT19$1,181−24%$998 – $3,639
West Virginia WV33$1,142−26%$867 – $2,037
Alabama AL36$1,140−26%$672 – $2,341
New Mexico NM22$1,122−28%$584 – $1,681
Hawaii HI11$1,117−28%$969 – $1,572
New York NY88$1,095−29%$637 – $2,194
Kansas KS59$1,043−33%$717 – $1,977
Maine ME23$892−42%$505 – $1,719
Tennessee TN75$753−51%$452 – $1,435
Louisiana LA48$722−53%$405 – $1,080
Rhode Island RI10$721−53%$622 – $1,273
New Jersey NJ55$700−55%$499 – $886
Arkansas AR25$652−58%$564 – $1,284
Mississippi MS42$650−58%$515 – $1,101
Montana MT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
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 $1,549.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,235$1,551$773 – $2,580
Children’s47$2,261$1,180 – $3,452
Critical access643$1,533$882 – $2,146
Ownership
For-profit437$1,869$850 – $5,626
Government466$1,294$684 – $1,995
Non-profit2,022$1,555$829 – $2,361
System affiliation
Part of a system2,472$1,565$809 – $2,533
Independent463$1,294$742 – $2,147

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,564
Median cash price$1,549
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

2,060 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,574 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,600; most fall between $884 and $2,414.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 2,060 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
$622$1,004$1,574$2,210$3,295

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.3× what the cheapest tenth charges ($622 vs $3,295).

Of the 2,261 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 2,060 gave a usable cash price; 108 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 93 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,935 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (74%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 3,222 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,935
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here186
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 — excluded100
Hospitals that filed this code3,222

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 Radioisotope scan and function studies family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Hepatobil Syst Imag Inc Gb W/Pharma Intervenj|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, “Gallbladder and bile duct nuclear scan with medication (CPT 78227) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-78227-gallbladder-and-bile-duct-nuclear-scan-with-medication