Scans and imaging CPT 78226 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

HIDA scan cost in Los Angeles, CA — inpatient

In Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 28 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder as an inpatient: from $595.35 to $5,306.47, with a median of $1,534.00. The lowest listed price is at Providence Health System - Southern California — $938.65 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $1,836.80 at 94 hospitals.

Cash prices at 28 facilities across 19 cities for code 78226, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 26, 2025 and Jul 27, 2026.

Lowest$595.35Providence Health System - Southern California
Median$1,534.00half pay less
Highest$5,306.47in this market
Difference8.9×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA.

median
Lowest $595.35Highest $5,306.47

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Providence Health System - Southern California lowest Mission Hills, CA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $595.35 $1,701.00 — 65% Apr 1, 2026
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USC Arcadia Hospital Arcadia, CA · (626) 898-8000 NM-HEPATOBILIARY W/O MEDS $844.90 $2,414.00 $1,810.50–$2,414.00 65% Jul 27, 2026
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Providence Cedars Sinai Tarzana Medical Center Tarzana, CA · (818) 881-0800 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $939.75 $2,685.00 — 65% Apr 1, 2026
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Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance Torrance, CA · (310) 540-7676 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $1,149.05 $3,283.00 — 65% Apr 1, 2026
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Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center San Pedro San Pedro, CA · (310) 832-3311 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $1,149.05 $3,283.00 — 65% Apr 1, 2026
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Saint John's Health Center Santa Monica, CA · (310) 829-5511 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $1,212.75 $3,465.00 — 65% Apr 1, 2026
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St Jude Hospital Fullerton, CA · (714) 992-3000 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $1,258.08 $2,621.00 — 52% Apr 1, 2026
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - West la Los Angeles, CA · (213) 857-2201 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Woodland Hills Woodland Hills, CA · (818) 719-3800 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Orange County - Irvine Irvine, CA HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · (323) 783-4011 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Panorama City Panorama City, CA · (818) 375-2000 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Downey Downey, CA · (562) 461-6007 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Orange County - Anaheim Anaheim, CA · (714) 279-4000 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South Bay Harbor City, CA · (310) 325-5111 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Baldwin Park Baldwin Park, CA · (626) 851-1011 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,534.00 $2,950.00 $365.00–$1,085.00 48% —
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Mission Hospital Regional Med Center Mission Viejo, CA · (949) 364-1400 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $1,572.96 $3,277.00 — 52% Apr 1, 2026
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UCI Health - Lakewood Orange, CA · (714) 456-7890 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMG $1,761.20 $4,403.00 — 60% Apr 1, 2026
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Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center Burbank, CA · (818) 843-5111 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $2,305.80 $6,588.00 — 65% Apr 1, 2026
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St Joseph Hospital of Orange Orange, CA · (714) 633-9111 HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM $2,515.20 $5,240.00 — 52% Apr 1, 2026
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Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital Marina del Rey, CA · (310) 823-8911 HB NM HEPATOBILIARY WO PHARM $3,594.30 $5,529.69 $500.35–$9,712.00 35% Nov 26, 2025
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UCI Health - Placentia Linda Orange, CA · (714) 456-7890 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMG $3,613.20 $9,033.00 — 60% Apr 1, 2026
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UCI Health - Los Alamitos Orange, CA · (714) 456-7890 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMG $3,613.20 $9,033.00 — 60% Apr 1, 2026
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UCI Health - Fountain Valley Orange, CA · (714) 456-7890 HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMG $3,613.20 $9,033.00 — 60% Apr 1, 2026
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UCI Health-Orange Orange, CA · (714) 456-7890 HB HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $3,613.20 $9,033.00 — 60% Apr 1, 2026
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USC Kenneth Norris Jr Cancer Hospital Los Angeles, CA Hepatobiliary System Imaging $4,303.00 $4,303.00 — — Apr 1, 2026
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Keck Hospital of USC Los Angeles, CA · (323) 442-8656 Hepatobiliary System Imaging $5,026.75 $5,026.75 — — Apr 1, 2026
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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA · (310) 423-5000 HB NM HEPATOBILIARY WO PHARM $5,306.47 $8,163.80 $500.35–$14,761.00 35% Nov 26, 2025
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Inpatient: lowest $595.35, median $1,534.00, highest $5,306.47 — a 8.9× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 30 facilities here, median $1,534.00 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 3 of 12 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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).