HIDA scan cost in Milwaukee, WI
In Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI, 15 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $485.24 to $2,893.27, with a median of $1,375.00. The lowest listed price is at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin — $889.76 less than the median here. Across Wisconsin, the median is $1,094.72 at 62 hospitals.
Cash prices at 15 facilities across 9 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 Nov 21, 2025 and Mar 23, 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Hospital of Wisconsin lowest Milwaukee, WI · (414) 266-3954 HBC GALLBLADDER SCAN | $485.24 | $882.25 | $617.58–$838.14 | 45% | Mar 23, 2026 source file |
| Children's Hospital of Wisconsin lowest Milwaukee, WI · (414) 266-3954 HBC GALLBLADDER SCAN | $485.24 | $882.25 | $617.58–$838.14 | 45% | Mar 23, 2026 source file |
| Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI · (414) 266-3954 HBC BILIARY ATRESIA | $634.84 | $1,154.25 | $807.98–$1,096.54 | 45% | Mar 23, 2026 source file |
| Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI · (414) 266-3954 HBC BILIARY ATRESIA | $634.84 | $1,154.25 | $807.98–$1,096.54 | 45% | Mar 23, 2026 source file |
| Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Institute Mequon, WI HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $1,162.29 | $2,193.00 | $57.03–$1,105.23 | 47% | — source file |
| Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Institute Mequon, WI HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $1,162.29 | $2,193.00 | $57.03–$1,105.23 | 47% | — source file |
| Aurora St Lukes South Shore of Aurora Health Care Metro Cudahy, WI NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora West Allis Medical Center West Allis, WI · (414) 328-6000 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora Medical Center Grafton Grafton, WI · (262) 329-1000 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora Medical Center Washington County Hartford, WI · (262) 673-2300 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora Medical Center Kenosha Kenosha, WI · (262) 948-5600 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora Sinai Medical Center of Aurora Health Care Metro Milwaukee, WI NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora St Lukes Medical Center of Aurora Health Care Metro Milwaukee, WI · (414) 649-6000 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Aurora Medical Center Summit Summit, WI · (262) 434-1600 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W/WO GB | $1,375.00 | $2,750.00 | $1,375.00–$2,376.00 | 50% | Nov 21, 2025 source file |
| Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · (414) 585-1374 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $2,144.38 | $4,046.00 | $57.03–$1,105.23 | 47% | — source file |
| Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Ozaukee Mequon, WI HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $2,144.38 | $4,046.00 | $57.03–$1,105.23 | 47% | — source file |
| Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital Franklin, WI HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $2,893.27 | $5,459.00 | $124.96–$1,138.22 | 47% | — source file |
| Ascension St. Francis Hospital Milwaukee, WI · (414) 647-5000 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $2,893.27 | $5,459.00 | $124.96–$1,138.22 | 47% | — source file |
| Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital Milwaukee, WI · (414) 447-2130 HC HEPATOBILIARY IMAGING W OR WO GB | $2,893.27 | $5,459.00 | $124.96–$1,138.22 | 47% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $485.24, median $1,375.00, highest $2,893.27 — a 6.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $1,375.00. 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 9 of 15 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).