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Procedure price report · Pathology

Immediate check of needle aspiration sample, first check

CPT 88172the billing code this page is about

On-the-spot microscopic look at cells taken by fine needle aspiration to judge whether enough material was collected; covers the first evaluation episode at one site.

Hospitals typically charge $167 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,482 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $170. Most fall between $76 and $316 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,482
States
50
Filings dated
Jan 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 25, 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 2,482 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
$47$93$167$275$473

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 10.0× what the cheapest tenth charges ($47 vs $473).

How the prices are spread

$30 – $40: 73 hospitals$30$40 – $55: 121 hospitals$55 – $75: 176 hospitals$55$75 – $102: 230 hospitals$102 – $138: 305 hospitals$102$138 – $188: 405 hospitals$188 – $255: 399 hospitals$188$255 – $347: 235 hospitals$347 – $472: 168 hospitals$347$472 – $642: 125 hospitals$472median $167price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,237 of 2,482 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$30$4073
$40$55121
$55$75176
$75$102230
$102$138305
$138$188405
$188$255399
$255$347235
$347$472168
$472$642125

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$174
Median cash price$167
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.96×

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 $167.

Alaska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $95 across 20 hospitalsME$95Vermont: median $181 across 10 hospitalsVT$181New Hampshire: median $196 across 15 hospitalsNH$196Washington: median $126 across 57 hospitalsWA$126Idaho: median $190 across 14 hospitalsID$190Montana: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: median $113 across 10 hospitalsND$113Minnesota: median $117 across 56 hospitalsMN$117Illinois: median $227 across 111 hospitalsIL$227Wisconsin: median $139 across 91 hospitalsWI$139Michigan: median $101 across 78 hospitalsMI$101New York: median $203 across 92 hospitalsNY$203Massachusetts: median $283 across 49 hospitalsMA$283Oregon: median $176 across 40 hospitalsOR$176Nevada: median $171 across 12 hospitalsNV$171Wyoming: median $146 across 11 hospitalsWY$146South Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $140 across 39 hospitalsIA$140Indiana: median $184 across 81 hospitalsIN$184Ohio: median $168 across 122 hospitalsOH$168Pennsylvania: median $163 across 111 hospitalsPA$163New Jersey: median $190 across 51 hospitalsNJ$190Connecticut: median $339 across 19 hospitalsCT$339Rhode Island: median $191 across 10 hospitalsRI$191California: median $240 across 143 hospitalsCA$240Utah: median $168 across 37 hospitalsUT$168Colorado: median $208 across 50 hospitalsCO$208Nebraska: median $102 across 29 hospitalsNE$102Missouri: median $130 across 60 hospitalsMO$130Kentucky: median $134 across 48 hospitalsKY$134West Virginia: median $120 across 19 hospitalsWV$120Virginia: median $144 across 61 hospitalsVA$144Maryland: median $159 across 38 hospitalsMD$159Delaware: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $209 across 33 hospitalsAZ$209New Mexico: median $137 across 13 hospitalsNM$137Kansas: median $112 across 37 hospitalsKS$112Arkansas: median $81 across 22 hospitalsAR$81Tennessee: median $51 across 69 hospitalsTN$51North Carolina: median $175 across 81 hospitalsNC$175South Carolina: median $164 across 47 hospitalsSC$164Oklahoma: median $102 across 48 hospitalsOK$102Louisiana: median $66 across 40 hospitalsLA$66Mississippi: median $89 across 38 hospitalsMS$89Alabama: median $152 across 23 hospitalsAL$152Georgia: median $169 across 77 hospitalsGA$169Hawaii: median $224 across 19 hospitalsHI$224Texas: median $192 across 198 hospitalsTX$192Florida: median $255 across 123 hospitalsFL$255
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $167. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Connecticut CT19$339+103%$156 – $562
Massachusetts MA49$283+69%$172 – $485
Florida FL123$255+53%$66 – $592
California CA143$240+44%$77 – $347
Illinois IL111$227+36%$126 – $372
Hawaii HI19$224+34%$70 – $374
Arizona AZ33$209+25%$106 – $569
Colorado CO50$208+25%$108 – $533
New York NY92$203+21%$78 – $517
New Hampshire NH15$196+17%$58 – $415
Texas TX198$192+15%$82 – $632
Rhode Island RI10$191+14%$84 – $285
Idaho ID14$190+14%$43 – $760
New Jersey NJ51$190+14%$61 – $228
Indiana IN81$184+10%$89 – $247
Vermont VT10$181+8%$75 – $297
Oregon OR40$176+5%$105 – $319
North Carolina NC81$175+5%$83 – $259
Nevada NV12$171+2%$23 – $720
Georgia GA77$169+1%$111 – $315
Ohio OH122$168+1%$123 – $278
Utah UT37$168+1%$142 – $198
South Carolina SC47$164−2%$84 – $170
Pennsylvania PA111$163−2%$73 – $286
Maryland MD38$159−5%$125 – $195
Alabama AL23$152−9%$52 – $331
Wyoming WY11$146−13%$45 – $295
Virginia VA61$144−14%$94 – $213
Iowa IA39$140−16%$70 – $180
Wisconsin WI91$139−17%$98 – $198
New Mexico NM13$137−18%$59 – $159
Kentucky KY48$134−20%$73 – $225
Missouri MO60$130−22%$72 – $194
Washington WA57$126−25%$98 – $304
West Virginia WV19$120−28%$59 – $424
Minnesota MN56$117−30%$82 – $172
North Dakota ND10$113−32%$52 – $308
Kansas KS37$112−33%$82 – $359
Oklahoma OK48$102−39%$58 – $208
Nebraska NE29$102−39%$51 – $150
Michigan MI78$101−40%$45 – $214
Maine ME20$95−43%$49 – $239
Mississippi MS38$89−47%$44 – $124
Arkansas AR22$81−52%$57 – $137
Louisiana LA40$66−61%$32 – $233
Tennessee TN69$51−69%$34 – $104
Montana MT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE7not 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 $167.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,003$169$80 – $337
Children’s53$208$122 – $338
Critical access416$124$58 – $239
Ownership
For-profit376$192$75 – $564
Government330$144$54 – $245
Non-profit1,766$167$80 – $304
System affiliation
Part of a system2,115$168$77 – $319
Independent367$160$60 – $286

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$288
Median cash price$167
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

1,787 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $167 and the average of the middle 60% is $171; most fall between $80 and $316.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,787 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
$50$98$167$274$460

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.2× what the cheapest tenth charges ($50 vs $460).

Of the 1,971 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,787 gave a usable cash price; 111 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 73 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,482 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (63%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,713 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,482
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here147
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded83
Hospitals that filed this code2,713

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 25, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 25, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Pathology family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Cytp Fine Ndl Aspirate Immt Cytohist Std Dx 1st|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, “Immediate check of needle aspiration sample, first check (CPT 88172) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-88172-immediate-check-of-needle-aspiration-sample-first-check