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Nuclear Scan for Thyroid Cancer That Has Spread

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 78016

A nuclear medicine scan that searches for thyroid tissue or thyroid cancer sitting outside the thyroid gland itself. The person is given a small amount of radioactive iodine, which thyroid cells take up wherever they are in the body, and a scanner then shows where it has collected.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Nuclear Scan for Thyroid Cancer That Has Spread cost?

$309

Typical negotiated rate. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $309 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $295 from a physician practice, and about $490 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 65 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$295$234 to $457
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$490$295 to $891

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $490 · 10th to 90th $214 to $1,413Professionalmedian $295 · 10th to 90th $195 to $741
$10.0$100.0$1.0K$10.0K$100.0K$1.0Mfacility $490professional $295

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$223.87
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$1,047.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$616.60
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$1,445.44
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$616.60
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$831.76
Typical High
$1,698.24
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$208.93
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$758.58
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$478.63
Typical High
$1,023.29
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$218.78
Median
$316.23
Typical High
$660.69

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 4.3 times more in Wyoming than in Florida. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Pick one to see its carriers and full range.

WY $891FL $209

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.