Scans and imaging CPT 78226 Outpatient

HIDA scan cost in Truckee, CA

In Truckee-Grass Valley, CA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $1,992.00 to $1,992.00, with a median of $1,992.00. Across California, the median is $1,836.80 at 94 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility 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 Jul 6, 2026 and Jul 6, 2026.

Lowest$1,992.00Tahoe Forest Hospital
Median$1,992.00half pay less
Highest$1,992.00in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Tahoe Forest Hospital Truckee, CA · (530) 587-6011 Nuclear medicine study of liver and bile duct system $1,992.00 $1,992.00 $302.48–$1,932.24 — Jul 6, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $1,992.00, median $1,992.00, highest $1,992.00.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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).