Laparoscopic Gallbladder Removal: what it covers and what it costs
What does a Laparoscopic Gallbladder Removal cost? Across 34 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for a Gallbladder Removal (CPT 47562) runs from about $1,703 in Raleigh, NC to $29,398 in Virginia Beach, VA, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 6 of those metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price. This page explains what the billing code covers, what the quoted price does and does not include, and what actually drives the spread between hospitals. These are price references from public data — not a quote, a bill, or medical or financial advice.
These figures are aggregated from hospitals' public price-transparency files — not a quote, a bill, an insurance benefit determination, or medical advice. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your insurance plan (deductible, copay, coinsurance, network), the exact service and any complications, and which hospital you use. Always confirm price and coverage with the hospital and your insurer before care.
What a Gallbladder Removal price actually covers
A laparoscopic cholecystectomy removes the gallbladder through small incisions with camera guidance. Elective cases are frequently same-day outpatient procedures; urgent cases arriving through the emergency department are often inpatient.
Code scope. 47562 = laparoscopic cholecystectomy. With intraoperative cholangiography is 47563; open is 47600. Elective cases are often outpatient; acute admissions may group to an inpatient DRG (411-419).
What is — and isn't — in the price
The facility charge covers the operating room, equipment and recovery. Surgeon and anaesthesia fees are separate. Intraoperative cholangiography — imaging the bile ducts during the operation — is an additional code where performed.
Why Gallbladder Removal prices differ so much between hospitals
Elective outpatient surgery at an ambulatory centre and an urgent inpatient admission for the same organ produce very different totals, and this is the procedure where that gap shows up most clearly on hospital price files. Conversion from laparoscopic to open surgery, decided during the operation, changes the code.
What else usually lands on the bill
An abdominal ultrasound and a HIDA scan often precede it, each billed separately. Intraoperative cholangiography is an add-on code, and ERCP for a retained stone is a separate procedure entirely.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether the quote assumes a scheduled outpatient case, and what applies if the operation is converted to an open procedure or requires an overnight stay.
Where the money actually moves
Where the operation is elective rather than urgent, an ambulatory surgery centre is markedly cheaper than an inpatient admission. Ask whether the case is scheduled as same-day surgery.
What the Gallbladder Removal numbers show nationally
A Gallbladder Removal costs 17.3× as much in Virginia Beach as in Raleigh
Across the 34 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $1,703 in Raleigh, NC to $29,398 in Virginia Beach, VA — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 1626% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Gallbladder Removal prices
Lowest: HARPER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (Detroit, MI) at $11; JOHNSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (Hartford, CT) at $155; DUKE HEALTH RALEIGH HOSPITAL (Raleigh, NC) at $264. Highest: CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER (Los Angeles, CA) at $40,280; SENTARA WILLIAMSBURG REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (Virginia Beach, VA) at $29,398; SENTARA PRINCESS ANNE HOSPITAL (Virginia Beach, VA) at $29,398. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
6 of 34 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay Gallbladder Removal price
Cheapest published cash price: $10,309 (St. Louis). A cash price is what the hospital will accept from someone paying directly; it is not required and many never publish one.
Insurers pay about 65% below the list price for a Gallbladder Removal
Across the 9 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 65% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Tampa: $59,775 list against $6,692 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish a Gallbladder Removal price
206 hospital price-file entries across 34 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 47562 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Gallbladder Removal price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Gallbladder Removal, by metro — lowest first. 6 of these 34 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 10 publish a chargemaster list price. Open a metro for its full hospital-by-hospital breakdown and who those hospitals are.
| Metro | Typical negotiated | Range | Cash | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | $1,703 | $264–$1,703 | — | 3 |
| Detroit, MI | $1,990 | $11–$5,997 | — | 6 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $2,809 | $453–$4,211 | — | 4 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $3,669 | $3,585–$8,671 | — | 10 |
| Houston, TX | $4,973 | $4,690–$4,973 | — | 6 |
| Hartford, CT | $5,450 | $155–$7,065 | — | 4 |
| Birmingham, AL | $5,475 | $4,688–$6,504 | — | 5 |
| Atlanta, GA | $5,730 | $320–$6,760 | — | 7 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $5,779 | $1,657–$15,393 | — | 9 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $5,891 | $5,891–$5,994 | $26,674 | 5 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $5,992 | $282–$10,000 | — | 11 |
| Washington, DC | $6,068 | $3,988–$9,942 | — | 5 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $6,119 | $5,840–$6,384 | — | 5 |
| St. Louis, MO | $6,243 | $5,940–$8,328 | $10,309 | 4 |
| Kansas City, MO | $6,335 | $1,945–$10,961 | — | 7 |
| Riverside, CA | $6,446 | $466–$7,090 | — | 4 |
| Nashville, TN | $6,489 | $6,489–$7,457 | — | 9 |
| Tampa, FL | $6,692 | $6,660–$6,735 | — | 6 |
| Sacramento, CA | $7,407 | $7,407 | $19,219 | 3 |
| San Francisco, CA | $7,407 | $7,407 | $19,219 | 6 |
| San Jose, CA | $7,407 | $6,584–$8,742 | — | 3 |
| Buffalo, NY | $7,510 | $828–$9,037 | — | 3 |
| New York, NY | $7,578 | $7,011–$8,603 | $30,820 | 7 |
| Dallas, TX | $8,024 | $1,569–$15,605 | — | 10 |
| San Diego, CA | $8,608 | $7,776–$20,167 | — | 3 |
| Austin, TX | $8,970 | $5,489–$12,483 | — | 9 |
| Denver, CO | $9,291 | $636–$12,739 | — | 10 |
| Seattle, WA | $11,704 | $1,709–$15,369 | — | 8 |
| Miami, FL | $12,235 | $10,522–$25,225 | — | 4 |
| Cleveland, OH | $13,419 | $615–$15,523 | $17,445 | 9 |
| Portland, OR | $13,440 | $7,224–$15,025 | — | 7 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $13,842 | $7,090–$40,280 | — | 5 |
| Chicago, IL | $16,965 | $16,965 | — | 3 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $29,398 | $5,220–$29,398 | — | 6 |
Source: hospitals' own machine-readable Standard Charges files, published under the U.S. Hospital Price Transparency rule (45 CFR §180.50). Most recent hospital file in this dataset: July 2026. Prices are references, not quotes or bills, and never medical or financial advice — where a hospital reports no price, nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Gallbladder Removal cost?
- Across 34 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $6,692, ranging from $1,703 in Raleigh to $29,398 in Virginia Beach. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 47562.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- The facility charge covers the operating room, equipment and recovery. Surgeon and anaesthesia fees are separate. Intraoperative cholangiography — imaging the bile ducts during the operation — is an additional code where performed.
- Why do Gallbladder Removal prices differ so much between hospitals?
- Elective outpatient surgery at an ambulatory centre and an urgent inpatient admission for the same organ produce very different totals, and this is the procedure where that gap shows up most clearly on hospital price files. Conversion from laparoscopic to open surgery, decided during the operation, changes the code.