HIDA scan cost in Houston, TX
In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 13 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $385.58 to $2,686.50, with a median of $2,686.50. The lowest listed price is at Harris Health and 1 other hospital — $2,300.92 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $1,754.98 at 92 hospitals.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 8 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 Mar 5, 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Health lowest Houston, TX HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMAGING | $385.58 | $2,509.00 | $180.00–$1,630.85 | 85% | — source file |
| Harris Health lowest Taub Loop Houston, TX · (713) 873-2000 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMAGING | $385.58 | $2,509.00 | $180.00–$1,630.85 | 85% | — source file |
| Hsa St. Joseph Houston, TX · (713) 757-1000 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMAGING | $395.16 | $1,532.73 | $381.33–$562.23 | 74% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Texas Children's Hospital Houston, TX · (832) 824-1000 TC NM HEPATOBILIARY IMG INCL GALLBLADDER | $2,150.70 | $3,210.00 | $303.06–$3,049.50 | 33% | Mar 5, 2026 source file |
| Texas Children's Hospital Houston, TX · (832) 824-1000 TC NM HEPATOBILIARY IMG INCL GALLBLADDER | $2,150.70 | $3,210.00 | $303.06–$3,049.50 | 33% | Mar 5, 2026 source file |
| Texas Children's Hospital Houston, TX · (832) 824-1000 TC NM HEPATOBILIARY IMG INCL GALLBLADDER | $2,150.70 | $3,210.00 | $303.06–$3,049.50 | 33% | Mar 5, 2026 source file |
| The Methodist Hospital Houston, TX · (713) 790-2221 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,557.50 | $5,115.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Houston Methodist Continuing Care Hospital Katy, TX HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Methodist West Houston Hospital Houston, TX · (832) 522-1000 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Willowbrook Hospital Houston, TX · (281) 477-1000 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital Cypress, TX · (346) 618-1506 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Sugar Land Hospital Sugar Land, TX · (281) 274-8000 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital The Woodlands, TX · (936) 270-2000 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital Baytown, TX · (281) 420-8600 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital Nassau Bay, TX · (281) 333-5503 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAG WO PHAR INT | $2,686.50 | $5,373.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $385.58, median $2,686.50, highest $2,686.50 — a 7.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $2,686.50. 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).