Nuclear stress test cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 14 hospitals list a cash price for Nuclear stress test imaging (SPECT), rest and stress studies: from $1,216.00 to $9,483.00, with a median of $4,569.90. The lowest listed price is at Uniontown Hospital — $3,353.90 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $4,206.60 at 61 hospitals.
Cash prices at 14 facilities across 9 cities for code 78452, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Apr 14, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniontown Hospital lowest Uniontown, PA NUCLEAR MEDICINE STUDIES OF HEART MUSCLE AT REST AND WITH STRESS AND SPECT | $1,216.00 | $2,432.00 | $55.85–$2,923.80 | 50% | — source file |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA HT MUSCLE IMAGE SPECT MULT | $1,469.00 | $2,938.00 | $55.85–$2,923.80 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA MYO PERF MULTI STUDY SPECT-E | $1,503.21 | $2,147.45 | $391.92–$2,870.34 | 30% | — source file |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA EXER SEST/W REST THALL SPECT | $2,604.60 | $4,341.00 | $320.09–$3,820.08 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA EXER SEST/REST SEST SPECT | $2,604.60 | $4,341.00 | $320.09–$3,820.08 | 40% | — source file |
| West Penn Allegheny Health System INC Wexford, PA HC NM MYOCARDIAL PERF SPECT MULT | $3,212.34 | $4,341.00 | $445.34–$4,172.54 | 26% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $3,923.40 | $6,539.00 | $430.01–$5,885.10 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA HC EXER SEST/REST SEST SPECT | $4,212.60 | $7,021.00 | $374.88–$6,459.32 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA HC HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $4,212.60 | $7,021.00 | $374.88–$6,459.32 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA HC MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $4,212.60 | $7,021.00 | $374.88–$6,459.32 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA RESTING THALLIUM W RECIRC SPEC | $4,388.40 | $7,314.00 | $374.88–$6,582.60 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA EXER SEST/W REST THALL SPECT | $4,388.40 | $7,314.00 | $374.88–$6,582.60 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA EXER SEST/REST SEST SPECT | $4,388.40 | $7,314.00 | $374.88–$6,582.60 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $4,751.40 | $7,919.00 | $374.88–$6,335.20 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA EXER SEST/REST SEST SPECT | $4,780.20 | $7,967.00 | $374.88–$6,771.95 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $4,780.20 | $7,967.00 | $374.88–$6,771.95 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA HC MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $5,215.80 | $8,693.00 | $374.88–$7,389.05 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA HC HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $5,215.80 | $8,693.00 | $374.88–$7,389.05 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $5,441.40 | $9,069.00 | $334.01–$7,708.65 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA EXER SEST/REST SEST SPECT | $5,441.40 | $9,069.00 | $334.01–$7,708.65 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA EXER SEST/W REST THALL SPECT | $5,441.40 | $9,069.00 | $334.01–$7,708.65 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA HT MSCL IMG SPECT MLT | $5,578.80 | $9,298.00 | $374.88–$7,903.30 | 40% | — source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA .NM T MYOCARD IMAG MULT SPEC | $9,483.00 | $15,805.00 | $5,326.29–$12,327.90 | 40% | — source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA NM MYOCARD IMAG MULT SPEC | $9,483.00 | $15,805.00 | $5,326.29–$12,327.90 | 40% | — source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA .NM-C MYOCARD IMAG MULT | $9,483.00 | $15,805.00 | $5,326.29–$12,327.90 | 40% | — source file |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA SPECT MYOCARD MULTI | $9,483.00 | $15,805.00 | $4,251.54–$19,369.03 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,216.00, median $4,569.90, highest $9,483.00 — a 7.8× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $4,751.40. 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 14 of 14 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it 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
This is the imaging part of a nuclear stress test. A small amount of radioactive tracer is injected, and a special camera takes pictures of blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and after exercise or a stress medicine. It is used to look for blocked heart arteries.
What the price covers
The code covers the camera images and their processing. The radioactive tracer, the stress test itself (with ECG monitoring), any stress medicine and the physician's interpretation are often billed separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 78452 ($3,092.31). 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.
| West Penn Allegheny Health System INC Wexford, PACHG MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $54.60 | file |