Cost analysis for CPT 71046 — X-ray of chest, 2 views
Average Medicare Payment
$13.32
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$78.9M
Services (2023)
6.7M
Price Change (2018–2023)
+4.8%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $12.71 | $124.8M | 11.7M | — |
| 2019 | $13.28 | $125.3M | 11.3M | +4.5% |
| 2020 | $12.71 | $80.2M | 7.1M | -4.3% |
| 2021 | $13.78 | $80.0M | 6.6M | +8.4% |
| 2022 | $13.54 | $80.3M | 6.7M | -1.7% |
| 2023 | $13.32 | $78.9M | 6.7M | -1.6% |
The most expensive state pays 2.4x more than the cheapest for this procedure. VI averages $16.84 vs XX at $7.04.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VI | $16.84 | $9.1K | 543 | 7 |
| GU | $16.61 | $24.7K | 1.5K | 19 |
| CA | $15.29 | $7.3M | 477.8K | 3.6K |
| AZ | $15.24 | $1.6M | 106.0K | 722 |
| NJ | $14.96 | $2.7M | 177.3K | 1.2K |
| FL | $14.91 | $5.8M | 387.9K | 2.6K |
| NY | $14.47 | $5.7M | 393.2K | 2.3K |
| DC | $13.84 | $198.4K | 14.3K | 118 |
| NV | $13.74 | $522.1K | 38.0K | 322 |
| PR | $13.73 | $69.7K | 5.1K | 113 |
| AK | $13.49 | $173.6K | 12.9K | 119 |
| MD | $13.27 | $4.3M | 322.5K | 962 |
| AL | $13.26 | $1.7M | 126.2K | 1.3K |
| TX | $12.48 | $5.2M | 418.7K | 3.4K |
| TN | $12.34 | $2.3M | 185.9K | 1.6K |
| VA | $11.90 | $2.4M | 204.5K | 1.5K |
| GA | $11.72 | $2.2M | 184.6K | 1.8K |
| WY | $11.71 | $109.9K | 9.4K | 108 |
| DE | $11.54 | $331.6K | 28.7K | 122 |
| RI | $11.48 | $418.1K | 36.4K | 151 |
| KS | $11.45 | $880.4K | 76.9K | 735 |
| MS | $11.20 | $1.1M | 96.1K | 777 |
| CT | $11.16 | $837.0K | 75.0K | 501 |
| HI | $11.09 | $238.0K | 21.5K | 122 |
| AR | $11.04 | $1.1M | 96.6K | 849 |
| SC | $10.93 | $1.3M | 116.6K | 1.1K |
| CO | $10.83 | $857.6K | 79.2K | 696 |
| NE | $10.77 | $680.9K | 63.2K | 599 |
| WA | $10.68 | $1.4M | 130.8K | 963 |
| NC | $10.64 | $2.8M | 258.6K | 2.3K |
| KY | $10.58 | $714.0K | 67.5K | 747 |
| IL | $10.42 | $3.1M | 293.8K | 1.5K |
| UT | $10.38 | $321.2K | 30.9K | 405 |
| LA | $10.38 | $1.0M | 96.8K | 728 |
| OK | $10.35 | $990.0K | 95.7K | 875 |
| MN | $10.26 | $1.9M | 185.4K | 1.2K |
| MA | $10.16 | $2.5M | 241.1K | 1.0K |
| AP | $10.11 | $10.5K | 1.0K | 5 |
| WI | $10.11 | $1.2M | 113.9K | 787 |
| MO | $9.97 | $1.8M | 177.9K | 1.1K |
| IA | $9.93 | $860.6K | 86.7K | 587 |
| MI | $9.88 | $2.0M | 203.6K | 1.4K |
| NM | $9.79 | $245.4K | 25.1K | 210 |
| PA | $9.78 | $2.7M | 274.6K | 1.7K |
| OR | $9.50 | $551.5K | 58.0K | 526 |
| IN | $9.39 | $1.0M | 109.3K | 867 |
| OH | $9.35 | $2.1M | 227.7K | 1.3K |
| NH | $9.27 | $403.5K | 43.6K | 248 |
| SD | $9.10 | $257.0K | 28.2K | 207 |
| MT | $9.01 | $183.0K | 20.3K | 165 |
| ID | $8.96 | $229.4K | 25.6K | 229 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symphony Diagnostic Services No 1 Llc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | MD | $1.8M | 156.4K | $11.70 |
| Biotech X-Ray Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | MO | $293.4K | 25.4K | $11.55 |
| Preventive Diagnostics Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | OH | $244.2K | 18.7K | $13.06 |
| Berger And Burrow Enterprises Inc. | Portable X-Ray Supplier | VA | $231.1K | 15.1K | $15.34 |
| Portable Medical Diagnostics Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | FL | $150.0K | 11.5K | $13.05 |
| Btx Koi Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | OH | $150.0K | 13.7K | $10.95 |
| Clearview Digital Image Llc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | AR | $146.9K | 14.5K | $10.14 |
| Dav-Kim Portable X Ray Service Co | Portable X-Ray Supplier | IL | $142.4K | 11.7K | $12.19 |
| Steel Valley Diversified, Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | OH | $137.4K | 7.2K | $19.04 |
| X-Ray On Wheels, Inc. | Portable X-Ray Supplier | TX | $123.3K | 5.2K | $23.59 |
| Integrated Health Administrative Services Inc. | Portable X-Ray Supplier | NY | $111.8K | 8.2K | $13.65 |
| Medical Imaging Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | FL | $109.1K | 6.6K | $16.52 |
| National Mobile X-Ray Llc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | NC | $106.2K | 4.6K | $23.08 |
| Kim Podolnick | Diagnostic Radiology | NY | $96.6K | 6.0K | $16.11 |
| Mindy Pfeffer | Diagnostic Radiology | NY | $92.3K | 3.0K | $30.31 |
| Specialty Portable X-Ray, Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | NY | $91.7K | 3.8K | $24.36 |
| Steven Mendelsohn | Diagnostic Radiology | NY | $89.1K | 2.9K | $31.18 |
| Precision Health Inc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | NY | $87.6K | 4.4K | $19.88 |
| Kenneth Blatt | Diagnostic Radiology | NJ | $81.0K | 4.3K | $18.82 |
| Mobile Images Acquisition, Llc | Portable X-Ray Supplier | TN | $71.1K | 6.1K | $11.62 |
The data suggests significant pricing inconsistencies for CPT 71046. With a 2.4x price gap between the most and least expensive states, geography plays an outsized role in what Medicare pays for this procedure.
Costs have remained relatively stable over time, but the geographic variation suggests Medicare's geographic adjustment factors may not fully capture the true cost differences across states.
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.