Eye socket (orbit) CT cost in Ames, IA
In Ames, IA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for eye socket (orbit) CT scan without contrast: from $1,469.66 to $1,628.00, with a median of $1,548.83. The lowest listed price is at Boone County Hospital — $79.17 less than the median here. Across Iowa, the median is $1,301.36 at 80 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 70480, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jul 27, 2026 and Jul 27, 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 Ames, IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boone County Hospital lowest Boone, IA · (515) 432-3140 CT scan of cranial cavity without contrast | $1,469.66 | $1,837.08 | $106.81–$1,745.23 | 20% | Jul 27, 2026 source file |
| Story County Hospital Nevada, IA · (515) 382-2111 HC CT ORBIT SELLA MID INNER EAR WO CONTR | $1,628.00 | $2,035.00 | $747.00–$1,973.00 | 20% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,469.66, median $1,548.83, highest $1,628.00 — a 1.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $1,628.00. 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 2 of 2 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
An orbit CT makes cross-section pictures of the eye sockets, the bones around them and the tissue behind the eyes. It is used after a blow to the eye, for a suspected metal fragment, and for eye bulging or swelling.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the scan and any contrast dye. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.