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Procedure price report · Radioisotope scan and function studies

Nuclear scan of spinal fluid flow in the brain

CPT 78630the billing code this page is about

Imaging that follows a radioactive tracer placed in the spinal fluid as it circulates around the brain and spinal cord.

Hospitals typically charge $1,293 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,892 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,386. Most fall between $685 and $2,383 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,892
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 1,892 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
$511$780$1,293$2,139$3,522

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.9× what the cheapest tenth charges ($511 vs $3,522).

How the prices are spread

$392 – $509: 92 hospitals$392$509 – $661: 164 hospitals$661 – $859: 203 hospitals$661$859 – $1,116: 229 hospitals$1,116 – $1,449: 234 hospitals$1,116$1,449 – $1,882: 282 hospitals$1,882 – $2,444: 280 hospitals$1,882$2,444 – $3,174: 97 hospitals$3,174 – $4,123: 54 hospitals$3,174$4,123 – $5,354: 69 hospitals$4,123median $1,293price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,704 of 1,892 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$392$50992
$509$661164
$661$859203
$859$1,116229
$1,116$1,449234
$1,449$1,882282
$1,882$2,444280
$2,444$3,17497
$3,174$4,12354
$4,123$5,35469

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$555
Median cash price$1,293
Cash as a multiple of Medicare2.3×

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 $1,293.

Alaska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $487 across 10 hospitalsME$487Vermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,305 across 38 hospitalsWA$1,305Idaho: median $1,761 across 14 hospitalsID$1,761Montana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,040 across 25 hospitalsMN$1,040Illinois: median $1,660 across 72 hospitalsIL$1,660Wisconsin: median $1,829 across 67 hospitalsWI$1,829Michigan: median $840 across 63 hospitalsMI$840New York: median $1,023 across 66 hospitalsNY$1,023Massachusetts: median $1,440 across 25 hospitalsMA$1,440Oregon: median $1,250 across 27 hospitalsOR$1,250Nevada: median $728 across 11 hospitalsNV$728Wyoming: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,141 across 23 hospitalsIA$1,141Indiana: median $1,359 across 58 hospitalsIN$1,359Ohio: median $1,428 across 101 hospitalsOH$1,428Pennsylvania: median $1,101 across 80 hospitalsPA$1,101New Jersey: median $694 across 46 hospitalsNJ$694Connecticut: median $1,133 across 11 hospitalsCT$1,133Rhode Island: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,954 across 169 hospitalsCA$1,954Utah: median $1,742 across 30 hospitalsUT$1,742Colorado: median $1,810 across 41 hospitalsCO$1,810Nebraska: median $750 across 15 hospitalsNE$750Missouri: median $856 across 40 hospitalsMO$856Kentucky: median $1,008 across 30 hospitalsKY$1,008West Virginia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: median $856 across 45 hospitalsVA$856Maryland: median $1,899 across 33 hospitalsMD$1,899Delaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $666 across 30 hospitalsAZ$666New Mexico: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $733 across 20 hospitalsKS$733Arkansas: median $1,114 across 13 hospitalsAR$1,114Tennessee: median $713 across 50 hospitalsTN$713North Carolina: median $966 across 52 hospitalsNC$966South Carolina: median $1,494 across 44 hospitalsSC$1,494Oklahoma: median $1,078 across 28 hospitalsOK$1,078Louisiana: median $574 across 27 hospitalsLA$574Mississippi: median $729 across 24 hospitalsMS$729Alabama: median $883 across 23 hospitalsAL$883Georgia: median $718 across 62 hospitalsGA$718Hawaii: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $1,383 across 174 hospitalsTX$1,383Florida: median $1,711 across 137 hospitalsFL$1,711
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,293. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA169$1,954+51%$986 – $2,386
Maryland MD33$1,899+47%$1,301 – $2,579
Wisconsin WI67$1,829+41%$1,155 – $2,386
Colorado CO41$1,810+40%$965 – $5,433
Idaho ID14$1,761+36%$1,500 – $2,017
Utah UT30$1,742+35%$1,492 – $1,755
Florida FL137$1,711+32%$1,105 – $4,393
Illinois IL72$1,660+28%$667 – $2,340
South Carolina SC44$1,494+16%$1,166 – $2,139
Massachusetts MA25$1,440+11%$854 – $2,032
Ohio OH101$1,428+10%$1,004 – $2,414
Texas TX174$1,383+7%$773 – $4,037
Indiana IN58$1,359+5%$822 – $2,084
Washington WA38$1,305+1%$950 – $1,652
Oregon OR27$1,250−3%$1,082 – $1,968
Iowa IA23$1,141−12%$426 – $1,578
Connecticut CT11$1,133−12%$1,033 – $1,808
Arkansas AR13$1,114−14%$453 – $1,409
Pennsylvania PA80$1,101−15%$613 – $3,014
Oklahoma OK28$1,078−17%$298 – $1,663
Minnesota MN25$1,040−20%$906 – $4,141
New York NY66$1,023−21%$637 – $2,542
Kentucky KY30$1,008−22%$667 – $4,168
North Carolina NC52$966−25%$803 – $1,520
Alabama AL23$883−32%$487 – $2,107
Missouri MO40$856−34%$667 – $2,107
Virginia VA45$856−34%$667 – $1,434
Michigan MI63$840−35%$560 – $1,828
Nebraska NE15$750−42%$426 – $1,474
Kansas KS20$733−43%$570 – $1,005
Mississippi MS24$729−44%$505 – $985
Nevada NV11$728−44%$590 – $4,026
Georgia GA62$718−44%$554 – $2,321
Tennessee TN50$713−45%$383 – $1,557
New Jersey NJ46$694−46%$596 – $1,498
Arizona AZ30$666−48%$369 – $1,606
Louisiana LA27$574−56%$431 – $911
Maine ME10$487−62%$372 – $1,382
New Mexico NM9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not 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 $1,293.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,664$1,275$676 – $2,372
Children’s39$1,816$896 – $3,844
Critical access181$1,264$697 – $2,386
Ownership
For-profit315$1,920$837 – $4,760
Government205$887$575 – $2,041
Non-profit1,364$1,240$685 – $2,237
System affiliation
Part of a system1,665$1,317$687 – $2,386
Independent227$1,236$667 – $2,288

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,300
Median cash price$1,293
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

1,404 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,369 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,402; most fall between $718 and $2,257.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,404 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
$487$818$1,369$2,050$2,791

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($487 vs $2,791).

Of the 1,529 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,404 gave a usable cash price; 58 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 67 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,892 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (48%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,068 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,892
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here102
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 — excluded74
Hospitals that filed this code2,068

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 Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow W/O Matl Cisternography|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 scan of spinal fluid flow in the brain (CPT 78630) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-78630-nuclear-scan-of-spinal-fluid-flow-in-the-brain