Chest CT scan with contrast cost in Buffalo, NY
In Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, 5 hospitals list a cash price for diagnostic CT scan of the chest, with contrast dye: from $524.42 to $1,826.30, with a median of $620.73. The lowest listed price is at Erie County Medical Center — $96.31 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $795.04 at 61 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 2 cities for code 71260, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Aug 25, 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County Medical Center lowest Buffalo, NY · (716) 898-3936 CT THORAX DX C+ | $524.42 | — | $94.48–$1,012.76 | — | Aug 25, 2026 source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 Diagnostic Computed Tomography Thorax W/Contrast | $620.73 | $620.73 | $36.68–$886.00 | — | — source file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 Diagnostic Computed Tomography Thorax W/Contrast | $620.73 | $620.73 | $36.68–$886.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 Diagnostic Computed Tomography Thorax W/Contrast | $620.73 | $620.73 | $36.68–$886.00 | — | — source file |
| Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY Ct Chest Scan W/Contrast | $1,826.30 | $1,826.30 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $524.42, median $620.73, highest $1,826.30 — a 3.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $620.73. 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 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 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 chest CT with contrast uses X-rays and dye injected into a vein to make detailed pictures of the lungs, blood vessels, lymph nodes and other chest tissues. It is used to look at masses, enlarged lymph nodes, infections and for cancer staging.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the scan; the contrast agent may appear as a separate line on some bills. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 71260 ($1,383.60). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital Lewiston, NYHC Cat Scan of Chest Contrast - CT Chest W Contrast | $102.00 | file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo, NYHC Cat Scan of Chest Contrast - CT Chest W Contrast | $102.00 | file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Buffalo, NYHC Cat Scan of Chest Contrast - CT Chest W Contrast | $102.00 | file |