HIDA scan cost in Seattle, WA
In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 13 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $143.00 to $1,757.60, with a median of $1,174.77. The lowest listed price is at Seattle Children's Hospital — $1,031.77 less than the median here. Across Washington, the median is $1,177.10 at 28 hospitals.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 11 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 Feb 28, 2026 and Apr 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Children's Hospital lowest Seattle, WA Hepatobiliary System Imaging | $143.00 | $143.00 | $19.81–$114.40 | — | — source file |
| Overlake Medical Center & Clinics Bellevue, WA Hc Hepatobiliary W/Wo Gb | $755.50 | $1,511.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Health Services Seattle, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $760.80 | $1,585.00 | — | 52% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Health Services Seattle, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $760.80 | $1,585.00 | — | 52% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Health Services Issaquah, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $760.80 | $1,585.00 | — | 52% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Health And Services - Washington Everett, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $782.60 | $1,505.00 | — | 48% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Health And Services - Washington Everett, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY IMG WO PHARM | $782.60 | $1,505.00 | — | 48% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Saint Clare Hospital Lakewood, WA HC HEPATOBILI WO OR W GALLBLADDER | $1,113.33 | $3,862.48 | $455.45–$2,896.86 | 71% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Franciscan Health System Gig Harbor, WA HC HEPATOBILI WO OR W GALLBLADDER | $1,174.77 | $3,862.48 | $455.45–$2,896.86 | 70% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Highline Medical Center Burien, WA HC HEPATOBILI WO OR W GALLBLADDER | $1,179.43 | $3,862.48 | $447.25–$3,476.24 | 69% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Health Services Seattle, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $1,200.00 | $2,500.00 | — | 52% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Health Services Issaquah, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $1,200.00 | $2,500.00 | — | 52% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Health Services Seattle, WA HC NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $1,200.00 | $2,500.00 | — | 52% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| St Francis Community Hospital Federal Way, WA HC HEPATOBILI WO OR W GALLBLADDER | $1,212.14 | $3,862.48 | $447.25–$2,896.86 | 69% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Franciscan Health System Tacoma, WA HC HEPATOBILI WO OR W GALLBLADDER | $1,279.25 | $3,862.48 | $455.45–$2,896.86 | 67% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle, WA HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMAGING - TECH | $1,318.35 | $2,585.00 | $1,551.00–$2,068.00 | 49% | — source file |
| Enumclaw Regional Hospital Association Enumclaw, WA HC HEPATOBILI WO OR W GALLBLADDER | $1,364.87 | $3,862.48 | $656.63–$3,476.24 | 65% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Public Hospital Dist No 1 Skagit dba Cascade Valley Hospital Arlington, WA HC LIVER FUNCTION STUDY | $1,757.60 | $2,197.00 | $186.75–$1,977.30 | 20% | — source file |
| Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle, WA NM Hepatobiliary Excretion | $2,520.00 | $2,520.00 | $635.04–$2,419.20 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $143.00, median $1,174.77, highest $1,757.60 — a 12.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $1,200.00. 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 8 of 9 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).