Nuclear stress test cost in New Orleans, LA
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 10 hospitals list a cash price for nuclear stress test imaging (SPECT), rest and stress studies: from $430.98 to $1,249.22, with a median of $1,010.79. The lowest listed price is at Ochsner Clinic Foundation — $579.81 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $1,185.68 at 42 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,010.79, is 69% below the US median of $3,277.78.
- That is 0.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($1,322.69).
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 10 facilities across 6 cities for code 78452, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 16, 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ochsner Clinic Foundation lowest New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC MPI SPECT, MULTIPLE+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $430.98 | $1,959.00 | $296.00–$2,938.37 | 78% |
| St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC MPI SPECT, MULTIPLE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $711.36 | $2,223.00 | $692.69–$2,497.38 | 68% |
| St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC MPI SPECT, MULTIPLE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $756.81 | $2,803.00 | $469.97–$2,938.37 | 73% |
| Omega Hospital Metairie, LA · (504) 616-3897 MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES File of May 26, 2026 · source file | $944.84 | $1,619.73 | $1,619.73–$2,699.55 | 42% |
| Childrens Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 899-9511 Nuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple File of Jun 24, 2026 · source file | $983.34 | $3,642.00 | $1,031.05–$3,642.00 | 73% |
| New Orleans East Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 592-6600 Nuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple File of Jun 24, 2026 · source file | $1,038.24 | $6,489.00 | $1,155.78–$3,893.40 | 84% |
| University Med Center New Orleans, LA · (504) 702-3000 Nuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $1,079.10 | $4,905.00 | $1,147.65–$709.52 | 78% |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC MPI SPECT, MULTIPLE File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file | $1,116.92 | $3,989.00 | $668.11–$3,629.99 | 72% |
| West Jefferson Medical Center Marrero, LA · (504) 347-5511 Nuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple File of Jun 30, 2026 · source file | $1,193.60 | $7,460.00 | $1,145.96–$860.88 | 84% |
| Touro Infirmary New Orleans, LA · (504) 897-8247 Nuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $1,249.22 | $8,923.00 | $1,147.65–$985.99 | 86% |
Outpatient: lowest $430.98, median $1,010.79, highest $1,249.22 — a 2.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $734.09. 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 7 of 10 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 4 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 nuclear stress test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Nuclear stress test explained.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 78452 ($3,455.00). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| East Jefferson General Hospital Metairie, LANuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple | $234.08 | file |
| Lakeside Hospital Metairie, LANuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple | $234.08 | file |
| Tulane Medical Center New Orleans, LANuclear Medicine Study Vessels of Heart Using Drugs or Exercise Multiple | $234.08 | file |