Spinal tap cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 15 hospitals list a cash price for spinal tap (lumbar puncture), diagnostic: from $331.02 to $2,612.00, with a median of $843.88. The lowest listed price is at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital — $512.86 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $793.75 at 54 hospitals.
Cash prices at 15 facilities across 12 cities for code 62270, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 1, 2025 and May 11, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC PUNCTURE SPINAL LUMBAR DX+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $331.02 | $1,226.00 | $107.64–$2,431.00 | 73% |
| Iredell Memorial Hospital Statesville, NC · (704) 878-5661 LUMBAR PUNCTURE-DIAGNOSTIC File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file | $624.29 | $2,312.17 | $529.72–$4,624.34 | 73% |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB LP SPINAL/SHUNT TAP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $719.00 | $1,438.00 | — | 50% |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB SPINAL TAP LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $778.00 | $1,556.00 | — | 50% |
| Atrium Health University City Charlotte, NC · (704) 548-6000 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 5, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $168.78–$1,637.12 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 5, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $168.78–$1,552.73 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+3 more lines at this price File of Dec 5, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $75.38–$1,518.98 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 1, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $190.38–$1,603.36 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 4, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $219.41–$1,603.36 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 1, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $252.49–$1,603.36 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 4, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $75.38–$1,552.73 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC ER SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of Dec 1, 2025 · source file | $843.88 | $1,687.75 | $207.09–$1,603.36 | 50% |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG LUMBAR PUNCTURE DX+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $2,612.00 | $2,612.00 | $278.55–$4,278.00 | — |
| CaroMont Regional Medical Center - Gastonia Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG LUMBAR PUNCTURE DX+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $2,612.00 | $2,612.00 | $278.55–$4,278.00 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG LUMBAR PUNCTURE DIAGNOSTIC+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $2,612.00 | $2,612.00 | $278.55–$4,278.00 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $331.02, median $843.88, highest $2,612.00 — a 7.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $843.88. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 11 of 13 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
A spinal tap removes a small amount of spinal fluid from the lower back with a needle. It is used for meningitis, bleeding and some neurological diseases.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the procedure. The lab tests on the fluid are billed separately.