HIDA scan cost in Buffalo, NY
In Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, 5 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $693.41 to $1,301.33, with a median of $693.41. The lowest listed price is at Sisters of Charity Hospital and 2 other hospitals. Across New York, the median is $931.49 at 57 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 2 cities for code 78226, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sisters of Charity Hospital lowest Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder | $693.41 | $693.41 | $23.04–$1,031.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo lowest Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder | $693.41 | $693.41 | $23.04–$1,031.00 | — | — source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital lowest Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder | $693.41 | $693.41 | $23.04–$1,031.00 | — | — source file |
| Erie County Medical Center Buffalo, NY · (716) 898-3936 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMAGING | $885.19 | — | $213.27–$1,247.58 | — | Aug 25, 2026 source file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 HC Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - NM Liver Function | $1,031.00 | $1,031.00 | $23.04–$1,031.00 | — | — source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 HC Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - NM Liver Function | $1,031.00 | $1,031.00 | $23.04–$1,031.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 HC Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - NM Liver Function | $1,031.00 | $1,031.00 | $23.04–$1,031.00 | — | — source file |
| Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY Hepatabiliary Scan | $1,301.33 | $1,301.33 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $693.41, median $693.41, highest $1,301.33 — a 1.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $693.41. 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 HIDA scan follows a radioactive tracer as the liver takes it up and releases it into the bile ducts, gallbladder and bowel. It is used to look for gallbladder inflammation, a blocked bile duct or a bile leak.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the imaging. The tracer and the reading by a radiologist or nuclear medicine doctor are often billed separately. A scan that also measures how well the gallbladder empties after a medicine is given is billed under a different code (78227).