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Procedure price report · Radioisotope scan and function studies

PET scan of a limited area

CPT 78811the billing code this page is about

Positron emission tomography imaging of one limited body region, such as the chest or head, without a combined CT scan.

Hospitals typically charge $2,811 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 557 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,231. Most fall between $1,530 and $5,855 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
557
States
44
Filings dated
Nov 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 557 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
$1,196$1,601$2,811$5,425$8,170

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,196 vs $8,170).

How the prices are spread

$190 – $284: 16 hospitals$190$284 – $422: 4 hospitals$422 – $629: 4 hospitals$422$629 – $937: 8 hospitals$937 – $1,395: 33 hospitals$937$1,395 – $2,077: 116 hospitals$2,077 – $3,094: 98 hospitals$2,077$3,094 – $4,607: 73 hospitals$4,607 – $6,862: 97 hospitals$4,607$6,862 – $10,219: 65 hospitals$6,862median $2,811price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (514 of 557 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$190$28416
$284$4224
$422$6294
$629$9378
$937$1,39533
$1,395$2,077116
$2,077$3,09498
$3,094$4,60773
$4,607$6,86297
$6,862$10,21965

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,323
Median cash price$2,811
Cash as a multiple of Medicare2.1×

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 $2,811.

Alaska: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNHWashington: median $3,835 across 11 hospitalsWA$3,835Idaho: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMTNorth Dakota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $4,934 across 21 hospitalsIL$4,934Wisconsin: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWIMichigan: median $1,811 across 12 hospitalsMI$1,811New York: median $1,616 across 38 hospitalsNY$1,616Massachusetts: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $190 across 15 hospitalsIA$190Indiana: median $2,532 across 19 hospitalsIN$2,532Ohio: median $4,591 across 38 hospitalsOH$4,591Pennsylvania: median $1,868 across 25 hospitalsPA$1,868New Jersey: median $1,445 across 18 hospitalsNJ$1,445Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $7,694 across 62 hospitalsCA$7,694Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: median $5,391 across 12 hospitalsKY$5,391West Virginia: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: median $5,071 across 13 hospitalsVA$5,071Maryland: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $1,619 across 16 hospitalsTN$1,619North Carolina: median $1,904 across 13 hospitalsNC$1,904South Carolina: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $124 across 14 hospitalsOK$124Louisiana: median $1,739 across 13 hospitalsLA$1,739Mississippi: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $4,694 across 15 hospitalsGA$4,694Hawaii: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,257 across 59 hospitalsTX$2,257Florida: median $3,135 across 39 hospitalsFL$3,135
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,811. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA62$7,694+174%$2,328 – $7,935
Kentucky KY12$5,391+92%$2,654 – $5,391
Virginia VA13$5,071+80%$5,071 – $5,426
Illinois IL21$4,934+75%$1,886 – $5,712
Georgia GA15$4,694+67%$1,298 – $9,266
Ohio OH38$4,591+63%$1,639 – $5,855
Washington WA11$3,835+36%$2,600 – $5,120
Florida FL39$3,135+12%$1,404 – $11,728
Indiana IN19$2,532−10%$1,999 – $5,519
Texas TX59$2,257−20%$2,243 – $3,809
North Carolina NC13$1,904−32%$1,854 – $3,575
Pennsylvania PA25$1,868−34%$1,472 – $4,972
Michigan MI12$1,811−36%$1,780 – $2,144
Louisiana LA13$1,739−38%$945 – $2,684
Tennessee TN16$1,619−42%$1,601 – $2,300
New York NY38$1,616−43%$1,545 – $6,704
New Jersey NJ18$1,445−49%$439 – $1,537
Iowa IA15$190−93%$190 – $2,204
Oklahoma OK14$124−96%$124 – $2,662
Missouri MO9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wisconsin WI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not 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 $2,811.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care501$2,684$1,531 – $5,855
Children’s17fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access38$3,116$1,414 – $4,245
Ownership
For-profit73$3,677$1,778 – $10,247
Government61$1,819$1,404 – $5,048
Non-profit422$2,853$1,537 – $5,855
System affiliation
Part of a system490$2,811$1,531 – $5,855
Independent67$2,808$1,448 – $5,919

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$6,121
Median cash price$2,811
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

350 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $3,688 and the average of the middle 60% is $3,763; most fall between $1,778 and $6,332.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 350 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
$1,404$2,050$3,688$5,855$8,160

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,404 vs $8,160).

Of the 423 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 350 gave a usable cash price; 59 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 14 a list price only.

How complete is this

557 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (14%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 640 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted557
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here59
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded23
Hospitals that filed this code640

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 Chg Nuc Gen Auto Data Simple <=30.

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, “PET scan of a limited area (CPT 78811) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-78811-pet-scan-of-a-limited-area