Skip to main content

Find out what healthcare may actually cost before you book

CT Scan Cost in the USA: Cash Price vs Insurance Price

Compare the cash price for a CT scan with an insured negotiated price, then estimate what you might actually pay after deductible, coinsurance and copay. Body part, contrast and whether the scan is billed by a hospital outpatient department all change the comparison.

Peter Langdon · TreatCompare editor — healthcare price research

Important information for US visitors

This page is general consumer information about US hospital price-transparency data and shoppable-service pricing. It is not insurance advice, billing advice, legal advice, tax advice, or medical advice, and it is not a substitute for an insurance broker, patient advocate, certified medical biller, or attorney. The cash-vs-insurance calculator produces scenario estimates only, based on numbers you enter; an actual bill depends on your plan, network status, prior authorisation, separate professional and facility fees, and the specific procedure code billed. Please verify any quoted price and your estimated patient responsibility directly with your provider and your insurer before booking care.

Could paying cash for a CT scan be lower-cost than using insurance?

Paying cash for an CT scan can be lower-cost than using insurance when the cash quote is below your likely patient responsibility under insurance. The key comparison is not cash price vs sticker price; it is cash price vs your deductible, coinsurance, copay and out-of-pocket maximum.
Use the decision tool

See if cash or insurance is lower-cost for your CT scan

Enter your cash quote and insurance plan numbers — get a scenario estimate in under a minute.

Use the calculator

Best first question

Cash or insurance?

Compare the cash quote with your estimated insurance responsibility, not with the hospital sticker price.

Key billing code

CPT code

Body part and whether contrast is administered change the billed CPT code and the cost band.

Main hidden issue

Facility fees

A CT scan billed by a hospital outpatient department may carry a facility fee on top of the scan itself.

Decision tool

Should I pay cash or use insurance for a CT scan?

Enter your quote and plan numbers. The result estimates today's payment and flags the deductible trade-off.

Estimate, not a bill

Cash route

$525

Insurance estimate

$1,060

Current signal

Cash looks lower-cost by $535

This is a simple estimate. It does not verify network status, prior authorization, separate radiologist bills, contrast, facility fees, or whether a cash payment counts toward your plan deductible or out-of-pocket maximum.

Open shareable result

Suggested next step

Cash is worth checking, but confirm deductible impact.

Your result depends on whether more care is likely this plan year and whether the provider is in-network.

Add my quoteReport bad data

Most useful submissions include body part, contrast status, facility fee, provider name, date quoted and whether the amount was cash, allowed amount, EOB patient responsibility or billed charge.

Before booking, ask

Provider

  • What CPT code will be billed for this CT scan?
  • Is the cash quote complete, or are professional/facility fees separate?
  • Is contrast, anesthesia, pathology or follow-up included if relevant?
  • Can you provide the quote in writing before booking?
  • Is contrast included, and will contrast administration be billed separately?
  • Is the CT being ordered as routine outpatient imaging or through an emergency pathway?
  • What CPT code and body part will be billed?
  • Is the scan with contrast, without contrast, or both?

Insurer

  • Is the provider in-network for my exact plan?
  • Will this CPT code require prior authorization?
  • What patient responsibility do you estimate after deductible, copay and coinsurance?
  • If I pay cash, can I submit an out-of-network claim later?

Keep the decision handy

Email me the checklist before I call the provider

We will send a confirmation link first. The signup is tied to this calculator page and helps us measure which US price topics need better data.

Data funnel

Help improve US healthcare price data

I have a quote or bill

Send provider, price, date, what was included and what was excluded.

Submit price data ->

I represent a provider

Update a listing, package fee, source URL, registration detail or location.

Update provider data ->

Something looks wrong

Flag an incorrect price, outdated source, missing inclusion or disputed claim.

Report a data issue ->

CT scan cost by state

State pages use available CMS/provider records where present, then fall back to the procedure calculator defaults while we collect more quotes and EOBs.

CT scan in CaliforniaCT scan in FloridaCT scan in IllinoisCT scan in New YorkCT scan in TexasAll state pages

Hospital outpatient department

CT performed by or billed through a hospital outpatient department.

Price risk: Facility charges and radiology read are often billed separately, raising the total.

Independent imaging center

Freestanding imaging provider that may publish cash or self-pay prices.

Price risk: Cash prices can be lower, but check network status and radiologist read fees.

Emergency department

CT ordered through an emergency visit or observation pathway.

Price risk: Not a normal shoppable-service scenario; ER and physician bills can dominate.

What changes an CT scan bill?

The useful comparison is itemised. These are the fields to pin down before relying on any quote.

FactorWhy it mattersWhat to ask
Body part and CPT codeCT head, CT chest and CT abdomen/pelvis use different CPT codes and price bands.Ask the ordering clinician which CPT code will be billed.
ContrastCT without contrast, with contrast, and with-and-without contrast can be billed at different rates.Confirm whether contrast is ordered and whether the quote includes contrast material and administration.
Facility vs professional billingHospital outpatient CT scans typically include a facility charge separate from the radiologist read.Ask whether the quote is a complete package including the radiologist read.
Network status and prior authorizationCT scans frequently require prior authorization; out-of-network can substantially change the bill.Confirm in-network status for your exact plan and whether authorization is required.
Deductible and out-of-pocket maximumCT charges can clear a deductible in a single scan; that changes whether cash or insurance is lower-cost.Ask your insurer for the estimated patient responsibility, not only the negotiated rate.

Example cash vs insurance scenarios

These are illustrative calculations only. Replace them with your plan and provider quote in the tool above.

ScenarioCash quoteAllowed amountDeductible leftCoinsuranceInsurance estimateSignal
High deductible, lower cash quote$525$1,300$1,20020%$1,220Cash may be lower-cost, but it may not count toward the deductible.
Deductible already met$525$1,300$020%$260Insurance may be lower-cost if in network and covered.
Out-of-pocket maximum nearly met$525$1,300$30020%$400Insurance may be close or better if the plan caps remaining responsibility.

Common CT scan CPT codes

The CPT code changes the comparison. Ask the ordering clinician or imaging provider which code will be billed.

CodeDescriptionTypical use
70450CT head or brain without contrastTrauma, stroke workup, headache investigation.
71250CT chest without contrastLung nodule follow-up, low-dose lung screening.
74176CT abdomen and pelvis without contrastKidney stones, abdominal pain, ER workup.
74177CT abdomen and pelvis with contrastCancer staging, infection investigation.

Hospital price records (CMS MRF data)

Aggregated from each hospital’s machine-readable file (MRF) published under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR § 180.50). Provider-specific rows include a source URL, retrieval date, and confidence rating.

Methodology

What these numbers are — and what they are not. The amounts below are rates the hospital has filed with CMS: a cash / self-pay price, a payer-specific negotiated rate (often shown as a min–median–max range across the payer-plan combinations on file), or a de-identified min-negotiatedvalue. They are not patient bills: the amount a specific patient pays depends on plan, network, deductible, coinsurance, copay, separately billed professional fees, prior authorisation, and the exact CPT code billed on the day. Always verify with the provider and your insurer before booking. Some rates may be stale — each row carries the MRF retrieval date and, where available, inclusion flags for facility, professional and contrast components.

Showing 60 representative rows from 2,066 matched records to keep this page crawlable. The full structured extract is available through the data team.

ProviderLocationPrice typeAmountSourceInclusionsCheckedConfidence
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71250
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71250
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70450
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70450
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70460
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70460
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 72131
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 72131
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71260
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71260
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74176
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$8,558CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74176
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$8,558CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74150
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74150
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71260
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71260
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 72131
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 72131
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74176
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$8,558CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74176
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$8,558CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74176
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$8,558 (range $266–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74150
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337 (range $213–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70460
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233 (range $248–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70460
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70460
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70450
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337 (range $174–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71250
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71250
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74150
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74150
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70450
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 70450
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71260
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$5,233 (range $293–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 71250
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337 (range $216–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $577–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 72131
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$4,337 (range $216–$4,201)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $445–$14,761)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $445–$14,761)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $445–$14,761)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $445–$14,761)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $445–$14,761)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088 (range $445–$14,761)CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CPT 74177
Los Angeles, CACash / self-pay price$11,088CMS hospital MRFnot specified2026-05-13high

Questions to ask before booking

  • What CPT code and body part will be billed?
  • Is the scan with contrast, without contrast, or both?
  • Is the quoted price a complete package, including the radiologist read?
  • Will there be a separate hospital facility fee?
  • If I pay cash, will the payment count toward my deductible or out-of-pocket maximum?
  • If I use insurance, what is my estimated patient responsibility after deductible, copay and coinsurance?
  • Is this provider in network for my exact plan?
  • Will prior authorization be required?

Data-source caveats

  • TreatCompare has not yet ingested nationwide hospital MRF rows for CT scans.
  • Hospital MRF prices can be difficult to match to a bundled CT appointment because facility, professional and contrast charges may be separate.
  • Independent imaging center cash prices may come from provider price pages rather than CMS hospital MRFs.
  • A payer-specific negotiated charge is not the same as the patient out-of-pocket amount.

According to CMS hospital price transparency data, US CT scan prices vary across hospital outpatient departments and independent imaging or surgery centres. The same scan or procedure can show a 3x to 10x price spread between facilities in the same metro area depending on payer contracts, facility fees, and whether the professional fee is bundled or billed separately.

According to standard US health-plan structure, the patient's out-of-pocket cost for a CT scan depends on remaining deductible, coinsurance percentage, in-network status, and any separately billed professional or anesthesia fees — not the headline hospital chargemaster price. The TreatCompare US cash-vs-insurance calculator estimates that responsibility from the cash quote and insurance allowed amount the patient enters.

According to CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR § 180.50), every US hospital must publish a machine-readable file (MRF) of standard charges including discounted cash prices and payer-specific negotiated rates. TreatCompare US ingests these MRF files and surfaces the data per provider with the source URL and retrieval date — the price records below carry full traceability back to the original hospital file.

Sources: CMS hospital MRF data, TreatCompare US procedure price record dataset, May 2026.

Using this data?

Methodology, extracts and licensing

Updated May 2026

Main sources

  • CMS Hospital Price Transparency overview
  • CMS Hospital Price Transparency hospitals page
  • CMSgov/hospital-price-transparency GitHub repository
  • CMS CSV/JSON data dictionary and template guidance

Methodology: TreatCompare maps CMS standard-charge fields and provider cash-price fields into a consumer comparison model. This MVP explains the decision logic before full hospital MRF ingestion.

TreatCompare publishes healthcare, care-cost and treatment-pricing research for consumers, journalists, policymakers and commercial teams.

Contact TreatCompare about dataMethodology, source summaries and structured extracts: TreatCompare data team

Where to look next for CT scan pricing or a facility

Publicly-verified US healthcare directories, accreditation tools and cash-pay marketplaces. TreatCompare links to the source — booking, eligibility and pricing are handled by the destination organisation.

ACR Accredited Facility SearchFind a facility

American College of Radiology accredited facility locator. Filter by procedure (MRI, CT, ultrasound, mammography) and ZIP code. The ACR accreditation is the US gold-standard for imaging quality.

Visit →
IAC Accredited FacilitiesFind a facility

Intersocietal Accreditation Commission facility finder for vascular, MRI, CT, nuclear and echocardiography imaging.

Visit →
Healthcare BluebookPrice lookup

Independent fair-price lookup for thousands of US healthcare services. Lets you compare a quote you have received against the local fair price.

Visit →
FAIR Health ConsumerPrice lookup

Free price-lookup tool maintained by the non-profit FAIR Health. Uses a database of billions of US insurance claims to show typical costs by procedure and ZIP code.

Visit →
Turquoise Health ConsumerPrice lookup

Aggregates published hospital price-transparency files into a searchable price comparison by procedure, payer and ZIP code.

Visit →
MDsaveCash marketplace

Pre-paid cash-bundle marketplace — patients pay an all-in price upfront and avoid the surprise-bill flow. Genuine cash-pay alternative to insurance billing.

Visit →
Sidecar HealthCash marketplace

Membership health plan that pays cash directly for covered services, giving members published prices upfront. A genuine alternative model to traditional insurance.

Visit →
The Leapfrog Group — Hospital SafetyHospital safety

Free hospital quality and safety ratings. Useful when deciding between a hospital outpatient department and an independent facility for the same procedure.

Visit →

TreatCompare is not affiliated with these organisations and does not take a fee for linking. Verify any quoted price with your provider and insurer before booking care.

Help improve TreatCompare

TreatCompare is read by patients, prescribers, journalists and AI assistants. The dataset gets better when people who’ve been quoted, billed, or treated for US CT scan pricing send their information in. None of these take more than a minute.

Submit a quote you were given

Help build the dataset for US CT scan pricing. Your submitted quote becomes part of TreatCompare's price record after review.

Submit a price →

Get TreatCompare US updates

Occasional email — roughly monthly — when we ship a new US dataset or methodology change (covers US CT scan pricing). Not a daily price alert. Unsubscribe with one click.

Email me updates →

Spotted something out of date?

Tell us the page and what changed. Corrections are reviewed and credited where appropriate.

Report an error →

Cash price vs insurance price
The broader decision guide for US healthcare prices
Is it lower-cost to pay cash for an MRI?
Decision-question walkthrough with calculator — concept also applies to CT, ultrasound, colonoscopy
Hospital outpatient vs imaging centre
Why the same scan can cost $1,500+ at a hospital and $400 at a freestanding imaging centre
Why is my MRI so expensive?
Facility fee, separately billed radiology, payer-specific rates, contrast, CPT-code differences
Does paying cash count toward my deductible?
How self-pay interacts with the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum
Submit a US price
Share a cash quote, EOB allowed amount or MRF rate to improve the dataset
Methodology
How we label CMS, cash-pay and insurance price fields