CPT71260

How Much Does a CT Chest With Contrast Cost in Arkansas?

Ct thorax dx c+

$233Hospital outpatient total2026 Medicare, physician + facility

Under 2026 Medicare rates, a CT chest with contrast costs up to about $233 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility (national rates). Outside a hospital, at an independent imaging center, lab or office, Medicare's full rate in Arkansas averages $147.

Hospital payments are wage-adjusted by locality, so the ZIP changes the numbers. For example 71601.
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Arkansas Medicare physician rate (2026)

-11.5% vs national

Single statewide locality.

Arkansas (Hospital)
$50.71
Physician reading only
Private plan est.
$192–$295
~130–200% of Medicare
Cash / self-pay est.
$118–$221
~80–150% of Medicare

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.

Physician reading alone
$54
Only 23% of the hospital total

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.

Your ZIP in Arkansas

Try a ZIP lookup to see rates for your corner of Arkansas, whether around Little Rock, the fast-growing Fayetteville and Springdale corridor, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, or the rural Delta.

What CT chest with contrast costs at hospitals near you

Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in Arkansas moves the bill more than anything else you control.

Locked

Rates for your ZIP, 5 named hospitals with CMS ratings, the add-on codes, and the scheduler script.

For example 71601.

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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. In Arkansas the office and hospital physician lines for this CPT differ by $96.75.

National vs Arkansas

National office$166.67
National hospital (physician)$53.78
Arkansas vs national12% below the national office rate of $166.67

Where Arkansas ranks for this CPT

Rank (lowest physician fee first)#1 of 51
Lowest stateArkansas ($147.46)
Highest stateAlaska ($192.38)

CT Chest With Contrast and how Arkansas is priced

One payment locality covers the whole of Arkansas, and its geographic indices are among the lowest CMS publishes, so Medicare-approved amounts here sit near the bottom of the national range. A clinic visit in Little Rock is priced with the same adjustments as one in the Delta or the Ozarks. For consumers this means the statewide numbers on this site are a close match for almost any Arkansas address. The bigger price swings come from whether a procedure is billed in a hospital department or an independent office.

Little Rock is the state's referral hub, home to its academic medical center and the densest concentration of specialists, with Northwest Arkansas growing quickly as a second center of care. Large parts of the Delta and the mountain counties have limited local options, so traveling for procedures is routine. Lower area wages also mean cash prices for care in Arkansas often undercut national averages.

This procedure: A chest CT with contrast adds an IV injection of iodine dye during the scan to light up blood vessels, lymph nodes, and masses in the chest. It is preferred when evaluating enlarged lymph nodes, suspected cancer spread, or vascular structures. The scan itself takes under a minute; the appointment runs about 30 minutes including IV placement, and the dye causes a brief warm flush that patients often feel in odd places.

What Is CT Chest With Contrast?

A chest CT with contrast adds an IV injection of iodine dye during the scan to light up blood vessels, lymph nodes, and masses in the chest. It is preferred when evaluating enlarged lymph nodes, suspected cancer spread, or vascular structures. The scan itself takes under a minute; the appointment runs about 30 minutes including IV placement, and the dye causes a brief warm flush that patients often feel in odd places.

What Affects the Cost

  • –The iodinated contrast is a separate supply charge on top of the scan fee.
  • –A kidney function blood test may be required before contrast in older patients or those with kidney risk, adding a lab charge.
  • –Hospital versus freestanding center pricing gaps for contrast CT are just as wide as for any advanced imaging.
  • –Patients with prior contrast reactions may need pre-medication protocols or an alternative study, changing the cost picture.
  • –The radiologist's fee for a contrast-enhanced study runs higher than for the plain version.

Questions to Ask Before Booking

  • 1.Does my authorization specify a contrast-enhanced chest CT?
  • 2.Will I need a kidney function test first, and is that billed to me?
  • 3.How much is the contrast agent itself on your bills?
  • 4.What is the global price at a freestanding imaging center?
  • 5.If I react to dye or my kidneys disqualify me, what happens to the study and the charges?

CT Chest With Contrast in Arkansas: questions

Under 2026 Medicare rates, a CT chest with contrast costs up to about $233 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility (national rates). Outside a hospital, at an independent imaging center, lab or office, Medicare's full rate in Arkansas averages $147. Arkansas is a single Medicare locality, so the physician rate is the same statewide.

Not on the physician fee schedule. Arkansas uses one locality, so the Medicare physician rate is the same from one end of the state to the other. What still changes is site of service (office vs hospital) and any facility fee the hospital bills on its own claim.

After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $29 for the office physician line or $10 for the hospital physician line in Arkansas. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.

It depends on where the test is done. At an independent imaging center, lab or office, $147.46 is Medicare's full rate in Arkansas, covering the test and the reading. In a hospital outpatient department the physician is paid only for the reading (about $50.71) and the hospital is paid separately, which brings the national total to up to about $233. Arkansas ranks #1 of 51 states on the non-hospital rate (12% below the national office rate of $166.67).

Data source: 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (CMS PPRRVU26B, released March 2026). Conversion factor: $33.4009. Prices shown are Medicare allowed amounts for the physician service and may not match what you are billed. Private insurance and self-pay ranges, when shown, are labeled estimates (typical multiples of Medicare), not quotes. This site is an independent cost tool, not medical advice.