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Procedure price report · Radioisotope scan and function studies

Brain PET scan to measure brain metabolism

CPT 78608the billing code this page is about

A positron emission tomography scan of the brain with a radioactive tracer that shows how actively different areas of the brain use energy.

Hospitals typically charge $4,019 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,604 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $4,156. Most fall between $2,172 and $6,937 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,604
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 1,604 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
$1,614$2,555$4,019$5,986$8,873

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.5× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,614 vs $8,873).

How the prices are spread

$1,231 – $1,553: 60 hospitals$1,231$1,553 – $1,959: 130 hospitals$1,959 – $2,471: 110 hospitals$1,959$2,471 – $3,117: 195 hospitals$3,117 – $3,933: 208 hospitals$3,117$3,933 – $4,962: 218 hospitals$4,962 – $6,259: 246 hospitals$4,962$6,259 – $7,896: 119 hospitals$7,896 – $9,962: 110 hospitals$7,896$9,962 – $12,567: 49 hospitals$9,962median $4,019price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,445 of 1,604 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$1,231$1,55360
$1,553$1,959130
$1,959$2,471110
$2,471$3,117195
$3,117$3,933208
$3,933$4,962218
$4,962$6,259246
$6,259$7,896119
$7,896$9,962110
$9,962$12,56749

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,461
Median cash price$4,019
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 $4,019.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $3,871 across 12 hospitalsNH$3,871Washington: median $3,700 across 40 hospitalsWA$3,700Idaho: median $9,652 across 11 hospitalsID$9,652Montana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $2,451 across 31 hospitalsMN$2,451Illinois: median $5,635 across 64 hospitalsIL$5,635Wisconsin: median $4,060 across 79 hospitalsWI$4,060Michigan: median $4,543 across 59 hospitalsMI$4,543New York: median $2,963 across 47 hospitalsNY$2,963Massachusetts: median $4,709 across 18 hospitalsMA$4,709Oregon: median $5,200 across 22 hospitalsOR$5,200Nevada: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $3,689 across 27 hospitalsIA$3,689Indiana: median $3,421 across 51 hospitalsIN$3,421Ohio: median $4,835 across 101 hospitalsOH$4,835Pennsylvania: median $5,280 across 75 hospitalsPA$5,280New Jersey: median $1,718 across 47 hospitalsNJ$1,718Connecticut: median $3,669 across 12 hospitalsCT$3,669Rhode Island: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $4,407 across 109 hospitalsCA$4,407Utah: median $7,253 across 27 hospitalsUT$7,253Colorado: median $5,310 across 37 hospitalsCO$5,310Nebraska: median $3,630 across 25 hospitalsNE$3,630Missouri: median $3,676 across 39 hospitalsMO$3,676Kentucky: median $3,638 across 27 hospitalsKY$3,638West Virginia: median $3,466 across 15 hospitalsWV$3,466Virginia: median $4,379 across 42 hospitalsVA$4,379Maryland: median $7,091 across 16 hospitalsMD$7,091Delaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $3,792 across 19 hospitalsAZ$3,792New Mexico: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $3,282 across 22 hospitalsKS$3,282Arkansas: median $1,758 across 13 hospitalsAR$1,758Tennessee: median $1,609 across 40 hospitalsTN$1,609North Carolina: median $2,945 across 44 hospitalsNC$2,945South Carolina: median $3,780 across 36 hospitalsSC$3,780Oklahoma: median $2,176 across 23 hospitalsOK$2,176Louisiana: median $2,345 across 25 hospitalsLA$2,345Mississippi: median $2,628 across 18 hospitalsMS$2,628Alabama: median $3,087 across 21 hospitalsAL$3,087Georgia: median $4,155 across 63 hospitalsGA$4,155Hawaii: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $4,265 across 109 hospitalsTX$4,265Florida: median $5,329 across 90 hospitalsFL$5,329
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $4,019. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Idaho ID11$9,652+140%$4,886 – $16,439
Utah UT27$7,253+80%$7,253 – $8,533
Maryland MD16$7,091+76%$3,821 – $8,878
Illinois IL64$5,635+40%$3,159 – $8,385
Florida FL90$5,329+33%$3,698 – $9,461
Colorado CO37$5,310+32%$3,177 – $11,934
Pennsylvania PA75$5,280+31%$1,897 – $13,297
Oregon OR22$5,200+29%$2,691 – $6,209
Ohio OH101$4,835+20%$3,560 – $5,850
Massachusetts MA18$4,709+17%$3,863 – $6,835
Michigan MI59$4,543+13%$2,644 – $7,581
California CA109$4,407+10%$2,319 – $8,280
Virginia VA42$4,379+9%$2,531 – $9,962
Texas TX109$4,265+6%$2,844 – $7,920
Georgia GA63$4,155+3%$2,228 – $9,126
Wisconsin WI79$4,060+1%$2,707 – $6,216
New Hampshire NH12$3,871−4%$2,402 – $11,536
Arizona AZ19$3,792−6%$1,472 – $4,008
South Carolina SC36$3,780−6%$2,868 – $5,001
Washington WA40$3,700−8%$2,620 – $5,011
Iowa IA27$3,689−8%$2,782 – $4,664
Missouri MO39$3,676−9%$2,456 – $5,780
Connecticut CT12$3,669−9%$2,527 – $5,921
Kentucky KY27$3,638−9%$2,042 – $5,824
Nebraska NE25$3,630−10%$2,317 – $6,084
West Virginia WV15$3,466−14%$1,644 – $5,521
Indiana IN51$3,421−15%$2,270 – $4,590
Kansas KS22$3,282−18%$1,748 – $5,124
Alabama AL21$3,087−23%$1,561 – $12,624
New York NY47$2,963−26%$1,726 – $5,945
North Carolina NC44$2,945−27%$2,403 – $5,181
Mississippi MS18$2,628−35%$1,912 – $5,506
Minnesota MN31$2,451−39%$2,123 – $3,918
Louisiana LA25$2,345−42%$1,034 – $3,616
Oklahoma OK23$2,176−46%$1,081 – $3,896
Arkansas AR13$1,758−56%$1,545 – $2,081
New Jersey NJ47$1,718−57%$932 – $2,504
Tennessee TN40$1,609−60%$1,210 – $3,413
Maine ME6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY1not 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 $4,019.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,380$3,955$2,122 – $6,735
Children’s40$5,987$3,330 – $8,553
Critical access176$4,235$2,759 – $6,886
Ownership
For-profit174$4,392$2,562 – $11,680
Government191$3,383$1,772 – $5,458
Non-profit1,231$4,060$2,293 – $6,820
System affiliation
Part of a system1,404$4,060$2,250 – $7,020
Independent200$3,638$1,912 – $6,328

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$7,050
Median cash price$4,019
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

1,209 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $4,298 and the average of the middle 60% is $4,337; most fall between $2,531 and $7,005.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,209 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
$1,838$2,782$4,298$6,175$8,553

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 4.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,838 vs $8,553).

Of the 1,337 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,209 gave a usable cash price; 82 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 46 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,604 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 1,792 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,604
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here130
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded2
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded56
Hospitals that filed this code1,792

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 Brain Imaging Pet Metabolic Evaluation|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, “Brain PET scan to measure brain metabolism (CPT 78608) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-78608-brain-pet-scan-to-measure-brain-metabolism