Ultrasound Abdomen Cost
Us exam abdom complete
$144Hospital outpatient total2026 Medicare, physician + facilityUnder 2026 Medicare rates, an ultrasound abdomen costs up to about $144 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility. Outside a hospital, one global fee of about $114 covers the whole test, and a ZIP code adjusts every figure to your area.
- ✓Your ZIP's wage-adjusted hospital and surgery center rates
- ✓Five nearby hospitals by name, with CMS star ratings
- ✓The add-on codes that typically land on the bill
- ✓A word-for-word script for asking for a good-faith estimate
- ✓A private link you can reopen and share
- ✓Everything in the Premium report
- ✓15 nearby hospitals instead of five
- ✓Filled good-faith-estimate request letter
- ✓Bill-negotiation letter
- ✓Printable PDF download
National Medicare physician rate (2026)
What the whole procedure costs
The office rate above is what an imaging center, lab or office is paid for the whole test. In a hospital, the facility bills its own fee and the physician bills only the reading. These are 2026 national Medicare amounts.
Medicare may pay the facility separately for this code or package it into another service on the same day, so treat the facility share as an upper bound. For a test like this the physician in a hospital bills only the reading (the professional component); outside a hospital one global fee covers the whole test, shown in the office rate above. Medicare allowed amounts are not what an uninsured patient is charged, and not a quote. Private plans typically allow more.
Get the rate for your ZIP
CMS adjusts this CPT by locality. A five-digit ZIP is enough: no account, no insurance card.
What ultrasound abdomen costs at hospitals near you
Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in your area moves the bill more than anything else you control.
Rates for your ZIP, 5 named hospitals with CMS ratings, the add-on codes, and the scheduler script.
For example 90001.
One-off payment, no account and no subscription. You get a private link and an email. No medical records and no insurance card, ever.
What these numbers are
Every figure on this page is a 2026 Medicare allowed amount: the physician line comes from the Physician Fee Schedule adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices, and the facility totals come from the CMS hospital outpatient (OPPS) and ambulatory surgery center rates. None of them is a hospital chargemaster price, your insurer's contracted rate, or a quote. Anesthesia, pathology, imaging reads and follow-up care are billed under their own codes when they apply, and an inpatient stay is paid a different way again. For this code the office and hospital physician lines differ by $76.82.
How CMS prices CPT 76700
Work is about 23% of the office total RVU; practice expense is about 75%. Localities with a high PE GPCI move this code more when practice expense is a large share.
Office vs hospital for this code
Office (non-facility) physician rate: $114.23. Hospital (facility) physician rate: $37.41.
Medicare patients typically owe 20% of the allowed amount after the Part B deductible, about $23 for the office physician fee, before any Medigap coverage. That coinsurance does not include a hospital facility fee.
Labeled private-plan and cash ranges on this page are arithmetic multiples of Medicare, not negotiated quotes. Ask the billing office for the CPT code, the site of service, and a good-faith estimate.
Ultrasound Abdomen cost by state
2026 Medicare non-hospital rate for CPT 76700, averaged across each state's localities. Open a state for its locality table and full cost breakdown.
What Is Ultrasound Abdomen?
A complete abdominal ultrasound uses sound waves, no radiation, to examine the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, and major vessels in one session. It is a first-line test for right-upper-belly pain, suspected gallstones, abnormal liver blood tests, and follow-up of known findings. You fast for several hours beforehand so the gallbladder is full, then lie on a table while a technologist glides a warm gel-covered probe over your abdomen for 20 to 30 minutes.
What Affects the Cost
- –Hospital outpatient ultrasound departments charge notably more than independent imaging centers and many physician offices.
- –The complete study covers all upper abdominal organs; a limited single-organ study is a cheaper code when only one question needs answering.
- –The sonographer's images are read by a radiologist whose professional fee may bill separately.
- –Poor views from bowel gas or body habitus occasionally force a repeat study or escalation to CT, adding cost.
- –Findings like gallstones frequently lead to surgical consultation, making this scan a common gateway to a larger episode.
How It Is Billed
CPT 76700 requires documented evaluation of the full set of upper abdominal organs; if only the gallbladder or one organ was examined, the limited code 76705 should be billed at a lower rate instead. Technical and professional components split at hospital-based departments. No contrast, sedation, or lab charges belong on a routine abdominal ultrasound claim.
Insurance & Coverage Notes
Ultrasound generally escapes the prior authorization rules that govern CT and MRI, making it the path of least resistance among abdominal imaging on commercial plans; standard deductible or copay cost sharing applies. Medicare covers it under Part B at 20 percent coinsurance. If your indication is specifically a follow-up of one known finding, ask whether the cheaper limited study suffices, because the complete study is sometimes ordered by default.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Do I need the complete study, or would a limited single-organ ultrasound answer my question at a lower price?
- 2.What are your fasting instructions so the study does not have to be repeated?
- 3.Is the radiologist reading fee included in the quote?
- 4.What does this cost at your imaging center versus the hospital location?
- 5.If views are limited, would you move to CT, and what would that cost?
Ultrasound Abdomen (CPT 76700): questions
Under 2026 Medicare rates, an ultrasound abdomen costs up to about $144 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility. Outside a hospital, one global fee of about $114 covers the whole test, and a ZIP code adjusts every figure to your area.
Outside a hospital, one global fee pays for the equipment, the staff and the doctor's reading, so the office or imaging center rate for CPT 76700 is $114.23. In a hospital the physician bills only the reading, about $37.41, and the hospital is paid for the rest on its own claim.
A complete abdominal ultrasound uses sound waves, no radiation, to examine the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, and major vessels in one session. It is a first-line test for right-upper-belly pain, suspected gallstones, abnormal liver blood tests, and follow-up of known findings. You fast for several hours beforehand so the gallbladder is full, then lie on a table while a technologist glides a warm gel-covered probe over your abdomen for 20 to 30 minutes. CMS bills it as “Us exam abdom complete.”
It depends on the setting. At an independent imaging center, lab or office, $114.23 is Medicare's full national rate, covering the test and the reading. In a hospital outpatient department the physician is paid only for the reading (about $37.41) and the hospital is paid separately, which takes the total to about $144. Private-plan allowed amounts are often higher than Medicare; your deductible and coinsurance still apply.
For cash-pay surgery shopping, use this CPT as the Medicare floor when you compare written quotes. How cash-price shopping works.