Spinal tap cost in Alaska
In Alaska, 15 hospitals publish a cash price for spinal tap (lumbar puncture), diagnostic: from $126.00 to $3,120.00, with a median of $893.88. The lowest price is at Maniilaq Health Center (Kotzebue). The highest price is 24.8× the lowest.
- The median here, $893.88, is 4% above the US median of $859.25.
- That is 1.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($721.17).
- Alaska ranks 29th of 50 states by median, cheapest first.
- 3 of 15 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 62270. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Nov 3, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$126.00Maniilaq Health Center
Median$893.88half of hospitals charge less
Highest$3,120.00in Alaska
Lowest saves$767.88vs the median
Hospitals in Alaska, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maniilaq Health Center lowest Kotzebue · Kotzebue, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $126.00 | $126.00 | Oct 15, 2026 source file |
| Norton Sound Health Nome · Nome, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $165.50 | $331.00 | Feb 19, 2026 source file |
| South Peninsula Hospital Homer · Homer, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $241.50 | $322.00 | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Cordova Community Medical Center Cordova · Cordova, AK SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAG | $480.50 | $961.00 | Mar 10, 2026 source file |
| Providence Valdez Medical Center Valdez · Valdez, AK HC ED SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC CDM | $554.58 | $711.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Mat-Su Valley Medical Center Palmer · Anchorage, AK S-Spinal Tab Diagnostic - GL 106 | $571.20 | $1,904.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center Kodiak · Kodiak, AK HC ED SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC CDM | $666.12 | $854.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Seward Hospital Seward · Seward, AK HC PR ED 62270 SPINAL FLUID TAP DIAGNOSTIC CDM | $893.88 | $1,146.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Bartlett Regional Hospital Juneau · Juneau, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $1,237.39 | $1,455.75 | Sep 26, 2026 source file |
| St. Elias Specialty Hospital Anchorage · Anchorage, AK HC PR 62270 ANES/SPINAL PUNC | $1,437.54 | $1,843.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Ketchikan Medial Center Ketchikan · Ketchikan, AK REMOVAL OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID WITH LOWER BACK SPINAL TAP FOR DIAGNOSTIC TEST | $1,611.35 | $2,479.00 | Mar 20, 2026 source file |
| Central Peninsula General Hospital Soldotna · Soldotna, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $2,422.00 | $2,422.00 | Aug 19, 2026 source file |
| Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Fairbanks · Fairbanks-College, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $2,436.47 | $2,564.71 | Jun 16, 2026 source file |
| Providence Alaska Medical Center Anchorage · Anchorage, AK HC ED SPINAL PUNCTURE LUMBAR DIAGNOSTIC CDM | $2,634.06 | $3,377.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Anchorage · Anchorage, AK Removal of cerebrospinal fluid with lower back spinal tap for diagnostic test | $3,120.00 | $3,120.00 | Oct 15, 2026 source file |
Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.
Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More
List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More
File date When the hospital last updated its price file, as the file says itself. A dash means the file gives no date.
At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
| Metro area | Hospitals | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, AK | 3 | $571.20 | $2,634.06 |
| Anchorage, AK | 1 | $1,437.54 | $1,437.54 |
| Cordova, AK | 1 | $480.50 | $480.50 |
| Fairbanks-College, AK | 1 | $2,436.47 | $2,436.47 |
| Homer, AK | 1 | $241.50 | $241.50 |
| Juneau, AK | 1 | $1,237.39 | $1,237.39 |
| Kodiak, AK | 1 | $666.12 | $666.12 |
| Kotzebue, AK | 1 | $126.00 | $126.00 |
| Ketchikan, AK | 1 | $1,611.35 | $1,611.35 |
| Nome, AK | 1 | $165.50 | $165.50 |
| Seward, AK | 1 | $893.88 | $893.88 |
| Soldotna, AK | 1 | $2,422.00 | $2,422.00 |
| Valdez, AK | 1 | $554.58 | $554.58 |
Market A metro area (as the Census Bureau defines it) or, outside metro areas, a town. Each links to every hospital price there.
Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.
Lowest The lowest cash price among those hospitals.
Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More
What spinal tap is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Spinal tap explained.
Spinal tap (lumbar puncture), diagnostic in other states
- Alabama$674.88
- Arizona$648.16
- Arkansas$680.68
- California$1,320.80
- Colorado$906.27
- Connecticut$1,147.50
- Delaware$1,149.53
- District of Columbia$999.97, 3 hospitals
- Florida$1,245.30
- Georgia$1,267.32
- Hawaii$1,283.10
- Idaho$842.55
- Illinois$969.60
- Indiana$1,025.25
- Iowa$603.85
- Kansas$554.40
- Kentucky$687.26
- Louisiana$458.49
- Maine$523.25
- Maryland$577.32
- Massachusetts$1,463.00
- Michigan$856.05
- Minnesota$742.15
- Mississippi$476.70
- Missouri$667.93
- Montana$436.00
- Nebraska$508.80
- Nevada$785.35
- New Hampshire$548.50
- New Jersey$943.92
- New Mexico$853.31
- New York$1,185.00
- North Carolina$813.75
- North Dakota$862.97
- Ohio$1,071.00
- Oklahoma$622.87
- Oregon$995.48
- Pennsylvania$1,222.50
- Puerto Rico$1,050.00, 3 hospitals
- Rhode Island$1,091.65
- South Carolina$1,012.46
- South Dakota$1,018.44
- Tennessee$402.00
- Texas$1,045.65
- Utah$765.59
- Vermont$844.20
- Virginia$859.25
- Washington$992.00
- West Virginia$1,005.50
- Wisconsin$605.00
- Wyoming$725.76
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.