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Procedure price report

Nuclear tracer scan for infection or inflammation, one area

CPT 78805the billing code this page is about

Imaging of a single body area after a radioactive tracer is given, to find a site of infection or inflammation such as an abscess.

Hospitals typically charge $1,098 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 202 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,175. Most fall between $541 and $2,006 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
202
States
39
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 202 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
$308$598$1,098$1,664$3,111

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 10× what the cheapest tenth charges ($308 vs $3,111).

How the prices are spread

$189 – $258: 8 hospitals$189$258 – $352: 8 hospitals$352 – $480: 12 hospitals$352$480 – $655: 14 hospitals$655 – $894: 11 hospitals$655$894 – $1,220: 58 hospitals$1,220 – $1,666: 32 hospitals$1,220$1,666 – $2,273: 14 hospitals$2,273 – $3,103: 8 hospitals$2,273$3,103 – $4,235: 17 hospitals$3,103median $1,098price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (182 of 202 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$189$2588
$258$3528
$352$48012
$480$65514
$655$89411
$894$1,22058
$1,220$1,66632
$1,666$2,27314
$2,273$3,1038
$3,103$4,23517

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,098.

Alaska: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceIDMontana: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $1,456 across 16 hospitalsIL$1,456Wisconsin: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWIMichigan: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMINew York: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNYMassachusetts: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIAIndiana: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: median $770 across 18 hospitalsPA$770New Jersey: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNJConnecticut: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $2,201 across 15 hospitalsCA$2,201Utah: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceWVVirginia: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceAZNew Mexico: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNMKansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOKLouisiana: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $1,664 across 12 hospitalsGA$1,664Hawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: median $1,098 across 37 hospitalsTX$1,098Florida: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,098. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA15$2,201+100%$1,284 – $2,806
Georgia GA12$1,664+52%$914 – $1,664
Illinois IL16$1,456+33%$128 – $1,788
Texas TX37$1,0980%$1,098 – $2,533
Pennsylvania PA18$770−30%$317 – $4,235
Colorado CO9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Jersey NJ8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Iowa IA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New York NY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oklahoma OK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Michigan MI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wisconsin WI1not 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 $1,098.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care170$1,098$547 – $2,239
Children’s3fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access28$969$311 – $1,483
Ownership
For-profit22$1,098$170 – $1,664
Government23$975$575 – $1,724
Non-profit156$1,098$572 – $2,043
System affiliation
Part of a system164$1,098$572 – $1,815
Independent38$1,200$385 – $2,472

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,830
Median cash price$1,098
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

168 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,098 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,258; most fall between $573 and $2,239.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 168 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
$271$770$1,098$1,724$3,334

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($271 vs $3,334).

Of the 199 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 168 gave a usable cash price; 28 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 3 a list price only.

How complete is this

202 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (5%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 245 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted202
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here37
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 — excluded6
Hospitals that filed this code245

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • 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 5, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 23, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as All Outpatient.

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 tracer scan for infection or inflammation, one area (CPT 78805) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-78805-nuclear-tracer-scan-for-infection-or-inflammation-one-area