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Procedure price report · Radioisotope scan and function studies

Nuclear reflux study for stomach acid backing up

CPT 78262the billing code this page is about

A nuclear medicine study that follows swallowed radioactive material to see whether stomach contents flow back up into the esophagus.

Hospitals typically charge $964 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,255 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $966. Most fall between $476 and $1,636 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,255
States
50
Filings dated
Jun 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 1,255 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
$394$522$964$1,492$2,290

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($394 vs $2,290).

How the prices are spread

$261 – $338: 29 hospitals$261$338 – $439: 87 hospitals$439 – $569: 175 hospitals$439$569 – $738: 124 hospitals$738 – $957: 148 hospitals$738$957 – $1,242: 199 hospitals$1,242 – $1,610: 171 hospitals$1,242$1,610 – $2,089: 112 hospitals$2,089 – $2,710: 50 hospitals$2,089$2,710 – $3,515: 42 hospitals$2,710median $964price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,137 of 1,255 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$261$33829
$338$43987
$439$569175
$569$738124
$738$957148
$957$1,242199
$1,242$1,610171
$1,610$2,089112
$2,089$2,71050
$2,710$3,51542

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$408
Median cash price$964
Cash as a multiple of Medicare2.4×

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 $964.

Alaska: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $689 across 14 hospitalsME$689Vermont: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $952 across 42 hospitalsWA$952Idaho: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,692 across 18 hospitalsMN$1,692Illinois: median $1,130 across 61 hospitalsIL$1,130Wisconsin: median $1,682 across 36 hospitalsWI$1,682Michigan: median $900 across 34 hospitalsMI$900New York: median $634 across 48 hospitalsNY$634Massachusetts: median $1,149 across 20 hospitalsMA$1,149Oregon: median $1,146 across 16 hospitalsOR$1,146Nevada: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $626 across 24 hospitalsIA$626Indiana: median $746 across 51 hospitalsIN$746Ohio: median $1,139 across 43 hospitalsOH$1,139Pennsylvania: median $997 across 64 hospitalsPA$997New Jersey: median $536 across 41 hospitalsNJ$536Connecticut: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,270 across 116 hospitalsCA$1,270Utah: median $1,360 across 25 hospitalsUT$1,360Colorado: median $873 across 18 hospitalsCO$873Nebraska: median $672 across 12 hospitalsNE$672Missouri: median $554 across 22 hospitalsMO$554Kentucky: median $930 across 16 hospitalsKY$930West Virginia: median $1,232 across 14 hospitalsWV$1,232Virginia: median $803 across 31 hospitalsVA$803Maryland: median $1,229 across 22 hospitalsMD$1,229Delaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $772 across 20 hospitalsAZ$772New Mexico: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $1,018 across 10 hospitalsKS$1,018Arkansas: median $420 across 13 hospitalsAR$420Tennessee: median $452 across 44 hospitalsTN$452North Carolina: median $605 across 32 hospitalsNC$605South Carolina: median $1,943 across 19 hospitalsSC$1,943Oklahoma: median $454 across 19 hospitalsOK$454Louisiana: median $471 across 19 hospitalsLA$471Mississippi: median $329 across 17 hospitalsMS$329Alabama: median $433 across 10 hospitalsAL$433Georgia: median $638 across 25 hospitalsGA$638Hawaii: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $917 across 103 hospitalsTX$917Florida: median $1,306 across 74 hospitalsFL$1,306
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $964. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Carolina SC19$1,943+102%$301 – $1,943
Minnesota MN18$1,692+76%$627 – $3,106
Wisconsin WI36$1,682+75%$612 – $2,267
Utah UT25$1,360+41%$1,360 – $1,600
Florida FL74$1,306+35%$1,103 – $3,004
California CA116$1,270+32%$774 – $2,204
West Virginia WV14$1,232+28%$685 – $1,894
Maryland MD22$1,229+27%$659 – $1,537
Massachusetts MA20$1,149+19%$570 – $1,363
Oregon OR16$1,146+19%$699 – $1,639
Ohio OH43$1,139+18%$810 – $1,364
Illinois IL61$1,130+17%$824 – $1,626
Kansas KS10$1,018+6%$376 – $2,254
Pennsylvania PA64$997+3%$476 – $4,556
Washington WA42$952−1%$770 – $1,250
Kentucky KY16$930−4%$475 – $1,288
Texas TX103$917−5%$494 – $1,806
Michigan MI34$900−7%$447 – $1,298
Colorado CO18$873−9%$694 – $8,274
Virginia VA31$803−17%$651 – $1,329
Arizona AZ20$772−20%$412 – $3,515
Indiana IN51$746−23%$499 – $1,157
Maine ME14$689−29%$342 – $1,937
Nebraska NE12$672−30%$480 – $1,069
Georgia GA25$638−34%$453 – $1,271
New York NY48$634−34%$476 – $1,638
Iowa IA24$626−35%$78 – $1,359
North Carolina NC32$605−37%$486 – $999
Missouri MO22$554−43%$478 – $1,550
New Jersey NJ41$536−44%$452 – $1,210
Louisiana LA19$471−51%$317 – $1,001
Oklahoma OK19$454−53%$55 – $1,092
Tennessee TN44$452−53%$221 – $815
Alabama AL10$433−55%$211 – $451
Arkansas AR13$420−56%$190 – $1,039
Mississippi MS17$329−66%$238 – $613
Idaho ID8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT1not 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 $964.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,049$917$473 – $1,600
Children’s41$1,184$800 – $2,363
Critical access162$1,033$557 – $1,682
Ownership
For-profit165$1,127$510 – $2,970
Government151$732$429 – $1,181
Non-profit936$998$484 – $1,600
System affiliation
Part of a system1,098$980$477 – $1,638
Independent157$877$473 – $1,534

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,718
Median cash price$964
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

927 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,068 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,048; most fall between $494 and $1,682.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 927 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
$397$587$1,068$1,525$2,267

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($397 vs $2,267).

Of the 1,037 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 927 gave a usable cash price; 55 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 55 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,255 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (32%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,421 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,255
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here106
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded60
Hospitals that filed this code1,421

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 Gastroesophageal Reflux Study|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, “Nuclear reflux study for stomach acid backing up (CPT 78262) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-78262-nuclear-reflux-study-for-stomach-acid-backing-up