Thyroid or neck ultrasound cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 8 hospitals list a cash price for ultrasound of the soft tissues of the head and neck, such as the thyroid: from $206.10 to $802.00, with a median of $415.28. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center South — $209.18 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $373.80 at 17 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 5 cities for code 76536, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center South lowest Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Chg US Soft Tissue Head & Neck Real Time Imge Docm | $206.10 | $458.00 | $125.29–$394.86 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Chg US Soft Tissue Head & Neck Real Time Imge Docm | $229.79 | $510.65 | $125.29–$475.07 | 55% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Head Neck | $303.80 | $434.00 | $56.26–$557.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Thyroid | $303.80 | $434.00 | $56.26–$557.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Neck Parat | $350.70 | $501.00 | $56.26–$557.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Thyroid | $373.80 | $534.00 | $112.51–$559.77 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Neck Parat | $431.90 | $617.00 | $112.51–$617.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Head Neck | $448.00 | $640.00 | $112.51–$640.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Chg US Soft Tissue Head & Neck Real Time Imge Docm | $456.75 | $1,015.00 | $92.61–$862.75 | 55% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Neck Parat | $479.50 | $685.00 | $95.43–$685.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Head Neck | $479.50 | $685.00 | $95.43–$685.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC US Head/Neck Tissues Real Time - US Thyroid | $479.50 | $685.00 | $95.43–$685.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Shriners Childrens - Boston Boston, MA · (617) 722-3000 US EXAM OF HEAD AND NECK | $664.50 | $664.50 | $99.32–$817.41 | — | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Real-Time Thyroid | $802.00 | $802.00 | $120.62–$1,129.47 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $206.10, median $415.28, highest $802.00 — a 3.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $373.80. 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 8 of 8 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
This ultrasound looks at the soft tissues of the neck and head, most often the thyroid, as well as salivary glands and lymph nodes. It is ordered for a lump or swelling in the neck, thyroid nodules or an abnormal thyroid test.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the exam itself. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately, and a needle biopsy of a nodule is billed under different codes.