HIDA scan cost in Denver, CO
In Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, 7 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $266.53 to $4,442.42, with a median of $4,442.42. The lowest listed price is at Denver Health and Hospital Authority — $4,175.89 less than the median here. Across Colorado, the median is $1,312.36 at 13 hospitals.
Cash prices at 7 facilities across 5 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 Apr 30, 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Health and Hospital Authority lowest Denver, CO HC HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMAGING | $266.53 | $761.50 | $261.19–$19,146.02 | 65% | Apr 30, 2026 source file |
| National Jewish Health Denver, CO HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING | $627.90 | $897.00 | $421.71–$1,145.54 | 30% | — source file |
| Childrens Hospital Colorado Aurora, CO HB=NM HIDA SCAN WO RX | $2,135.90 | $3,286.00 | $328.60–$3,023.12 | 35% | Apr 17, 2026 source file |
| AdventHealth Parker Parker, CO HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $4,442.42 | $4,442.42 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| AdventHealth Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $4,442.42 | $4,442.42 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| AdventHealth Littleton Littleton, CO HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $4,442.42 | $4,442.42 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| AdventHealth Porter Denver, CO HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $4,442.42 | $4,442.42 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $266.53, median $4,442.42, highest $4,442.42 — a 16.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $4,442.42. 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 3 of 3 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).