Thyroid or neck ultrasound cost in Joplin, MO
In Joplin, MO-KS, 5 hospitals list a cash price for ultrasound of the soft tissues of the head and neck, such as the thyroid: from $475.80 to $659.10, with a median of $583.70. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Hospital Carthage — $107.90 less than the median here. Across Missouri, the median is $538.70 at 25 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 4 cities for code 76536, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 25, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Sep 1, 2026 and Sep 1, 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 Joplin, MO-KS.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospital Carthage lowest Carthage, MO · (417) 358-8121 US Head/Neck Soft Tissue | $475.80 | $732.00 | $107.96 | 35% | — source file |
| Freeman Health System - Freeman West Joplin, MO · (417) 347-1111 US THYROID | $536.76 | $1,341.90 | — | 60% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Freeman Health System - Freeman West Joplin, MO · (417) 347-1111 US SOFT TISSUE NECK | $536.76 | $1,341.90 | — | 60% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Columbus Columbus, KS · (620) 429-2545 US Head/Neck Soft Tissue | $583.70 | $898.00 | $69.96–$626.91 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Specialty Hospital Southeast Kansas Galena, KS · (620) 783-1732 US Head/Neck Soft Tissue | $599.95 | $923.00 | $54.00–$466.75 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Joplin Joplin, MO · (417) 781-2727 US Head/Neck Soft Tissue | $659.10 | $1,014.00 | $54.00–$611.28 | 35% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $475.80, median $583.70, highest $659.10 — a 1.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $536.76. 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 1 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
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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 76536 ($474.44). 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.
| Mercy Hospital Joplin Joplin, MOUS Head/Neck Soft Tissue Pf | $42.90 | file |