Cost analysis for CPT 70486 — Ct scan of face without contrast
Average Medicare Payment
$43.83
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$21.4M
Services (2023)
446.2K
Price Change (2014–2023)
-27.3%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $60.29 | $26.6M | 420.1K | — |
| 2015 | $42.71 | $19.9M | 440.6K | -29.2% |
| 2016 | $41.84 | $20.4M | 454.8K | -2.0% |
| 2017 | $44.58 | $22.3M | 471.4K | +6.5% |
| 2018 | $45.28 | $23.1M | 477.4K | +1.6% |
| 2019 | $46.10 | $23.9M | 483.8K | +1.8% |
| 2020 | $45.89 | $18.2M | 367.4K | -0.5% |
| 2021 | $45.81 | $19.6M | 394.6K | -0.2% |
| 2022 | $44.38 | $20.5M | 424.7K | -3.1% |
| 2023 | $43.83 | $21.4M | 446.2K | -1.2% |
The most expensive state pays 2.2x more than the cheapest for this procedure. AK averages $61.88 vs SD at $28.44.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | $61.88 | $56.4K | 911 | 28 |
| FL | $59.47 | $2.4M | 40.3K | 1.0K |
| DC | $58.77 | $98.4K | 1.7K | 40 |
| NV | $58.45 | $194.8K | 3.3K | 98 |
| AZ | $57.42 | $625.5K | 10.9K | 275 |
| CA | $56.72 | $2.2M | 39.1K | 1.2K |
| MD | $55.73 | $653.1K | 11.7K | 278 |
| NJ | $55.03 | $624.7K | 11.4K | 311 |
| GA | $53.87 | $713.6K | 13.2K | 402 |
| TX | $53.81 | $2.0M | 37.1K | 1.0K |
| MT | $53.78 | $74.9K | 1.4K | 52 |
| KS | $53.61 | $343.5K | 6.4K | 157 |
| WY | $52.43 | $38.2K | 728 | 29 |
| NY | $51.91 | $1.4M | 26.8K | 666 |
| UT | $51.88 | $154.3K | 3.0K | 106 |
| SC | $51.13 | $508.5K | 9.9K | 280 |
| MS | $51.00 | $308.1K | 6.0K | 146 |
| CO | $46.30 | $419.9K | 9.1K | 255 |
| AL | $46.11 | $395.2K | 8.6K | 279 |
| IL | $45.63 | $871.3K | 19.1K | 564 |
| TN | $45.21 | $521.4K | 11.5K | 363 |
| OR | $44.12 | $165.4K | 3.7K | 130 |
| WA | $44.07 | $321.5K | 7.3K | 244 |
| NC | $43.80 | $631.5K | 14.4K | 471 |
| LA | $43.73 | $280.3K | 6.4K | 234 |
| PR | $43.03 | $9.1K | 211 | 10 |
| CT | $42.45 | $187.8K | 4.4K | 160 |
| RI | $42.44 | $66.6K | 1.6K | 59 |
| NM | $42.23 | $62.1K | 1.5K | 53 |
| IN | $41.44 | $339.5K | 8.2K | 251 |
| ME | $40.86 | $52.8K | 1.3K | 38 |
| VA | $40.76 | $498.6K | 12.2K | 364 |
| HI | $39.74 | $35.7K | 897 | 38 |
| MN | $39.68 | $520.0K | 13.1K | 474 |
| ND | $39.53 | $35.5K | 899 | 34 |
| DE | $39.35 | $65.4K | 1.7K | 37 |
| MO | $39.34 | $423.6K | 10.8K | 318 |
| OK | $39.14 | $201.6K | 5.2K | 171 |
| WI | $38.95 | $232.3K | 6.0K | 231 |
| KY | $38.41 | $178.4K | 4.6K | 152 |
| NE | $38.08 | $149.5K | 3.9K | 111 |
| IA | $37.55 | $138.1K | 3.7K | 123 |
| PA | $37.28 | $616.8K | 16.5K | 523 |
| ID | $36.14 | $114.9K | 3.2K | 66 |
| MA | $35.88 | $377.9K | 10.5K | 360 |
| AR | $34.99 | $142.7K | 4.1K | 128 |
| OH | $34.06 | $411.3K | 12.1K | 452 |
| MI | $33.91 | $342.7K | 10.1K | 335 |
| NH | $32.79 | $56.1K | 1.7K | 74 |
| WV | $31.25 | $71.3K | 2.3K | 88 |
| VT | $29.25 | $19.2K | 657 | 23 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Slaughter | Otolaryngology | TX | $65.2K | 594 | $109.83 |
| Michael Aronsohn | Otolaryngology | FL | $45.9K | 457 | $100.54 |
| William Austin | Otolaryngology | MS | $42.9K | 523 | $82.00 |
| Gateway Diagnostic Imaging Llc | Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) | TX | $42.6K | 462 | $92.16 |
| Michael Bublik | Otolaryngology | CA | $41.9K | 346 | $121.02 |
| Richard Odero | Diagnostic Radiology | MD | $38.4K | 333 | $115.26 |
| Naveen Kumar | Otolaryngology | AZ | $34.1K | 336 | $101.64 |
| James Gould | Otolaryngology | MO | $32.2K | 325 | $98.93 |
| Justin Casey | Ophthalmology | FL | $31.5K | 300 | $105.01 |
| Katya Shpilberg | Diagnostic Radiology | NY | $31.3K | 256 | $122.08 |
| Charles Schatz | Diagnostic Radiology | CA | $30.4K | 273 | $111.34 |
| Paul Lapco | Otolaryngology | FL | $30.3K | 300 | $100.93 |
| Alexander Gorup | Otolaryngology | FL | $30.2K | 304 | $99.27 |
| Kathy Yu | Otolaryngology | CA | $30.0K | 247 | $121.32 |
| Stacey Hudson | Otolaryngology | NV | $29.9K | 290 | $103.16 |
| Ari Wirtschafter | Otolaryngology | FL | $28.4K | 283 | $100.25 |
| Alen Cohen | Otolaryngology | CA | $27.3K | 227 | $120.39 |
| Jonathan Wiggenhorn | Otolaryngology | AZ | $26.4K | 286 | $92.19 |
| Ryan Holmes | Undefined Physician type | ID | $25.8K | 928 | $27.75 |
| Michael Cho | Otolaryngology | CA | $25.3K | 212 | $119.52 |
The data suggests significant pricing inconsistencies for CPT 70486. With a 2.2x price gap between the most and least expensive states, geography plays an outsized role in what Medicare pays for this procedure.
While costs have decreased 27.3% since 2014, the wide state-by-state variation suggests the pricing formula may not adequately account for regional differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.