CT Scan of the Abdomen & Pelvis (with contrast): what it covers and what it costs

What an Abdomen/Pelvis CT price actually covers

A CT of the abdomen and pelvis with contrast images the organs of both regions in a single acquisition, with an iodinated contrast agent given intravenously to make vessels and certain tissues easier to distinguish.

Code scope. 74177 = combined abdomen AND pelvis CT with contrast (the single combined code hospitals bill most). Without contrast 74176; without-and-with 74178.

What is — and isn't — in the price

The published price normally covers the scan, the facility and, at most hospitals, the contrast material itself. The radiologist's read is commonly a separate professional charge. Some hospitals itemise the contrast agent as its own line, so an unusually low headline price is worth checking.

Why Abdomen/Pelvis CT prices differ so much between hospitals

Contrast studies price above their non-contrast equivalents, and abdomen-and-pelvis together is a combined code that costs less than the two regions billed individually. Where a hospital instead bills abdomen and pelvis separately, the total can look very different for what a patient experienced as one scan.

What else usually lands on the bill

Often follows an abdominal ultrasound, which is billed separately. Laboratory work drawn at the same visit is separate again. If the study is repeated without contrast in the same session, that becomes a combined code.

What to ask before you book

Ask whether contrast material is included in the quoted figure and whether the study is billed as the combined abdomen-and-pelvis code or as two separate regional studies.

Where the money actually moves

Ask whether the combined abdomen-and-pelvis code is being used rather than two separate regional studies — the combined code costs less for the same scan. Freestanding centres remain cheaper when the study is elective.