Scans and imaging CPT 70496 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Head CT angiogram (CTA) cost in Nashville, TN — inpatient

In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 5 hospitals list a cash price for CT angiography (CTA) of the head as an inpatient: from $219.31 to $2,138.40, with a median of $1,859.40. The lowest listed price is at Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery — $1,640.09 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $1,097.79 at 86 hospitals.

Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 70496, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 28, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 1, 2025 and Sep 1, 2026.

Lowest$219.31Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery

Median$1,859.40half of hospitals charge less

Highest$2,138.40in this market

Difference9.8×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.

median

Lowest $219.31Highest $2,138.40

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery lowest Nashville, TN BCE CTA Head w/ + w/o Contrast 70496+1 more line at this price File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file	$219.31	$682.00	$253.84–$584.01	68%
Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC CTA HEAD W&W/O CONTRAST File of Oct 1, 2025 · source file	$1,148.40	$3,960.00	$86.64–$3,168.00	71%
Metro Nashville General Hospital Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 CT Angio Brain/Head File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file	$1,859.40	$3,099.00	—	40%
Williamson Medical Center Franklin, TN · (615) 435-5000 CTA HEAD W/WO CONTRAST source file	$2,032.16	$3,604.20	$1,337.16–$3,423.99	44%
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 HC CTA HEAD W&W/O CONTRAST File of Oct 1, 2025 · source file	$2,138.40	$3,960.00	$85.98–$3,168.00	46%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $219.31, median $1,859.40, highest $2,138.40 — a 9.8× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 21 facilities here, median $2,515.72 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 4 of 4 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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 head CTA uses contrast dye and fast CT scanning to show the blood vessels of the brain. It is used in suspected stroke, for aneurysms and for sudden severe headache.

What the price covers

The hospital price usually covers the scan and any contrast dye. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.