What a coronary calcium scan actually costs
Not a range somebody guessed. The self-pay price published by every facility we track, counted.
Most pages that answer this question give you a range somebody estimated. “$100 to $400.” No facilities named, no dates, nothing to check.
We track 168 facilities that do coronary calcium scoring. 71 of them publish a self-pay price on their own website. Here is what those 71 numbers actually look like.
$135
median published price
$100–$140
middle half of them
$49–$599
full range
The number you want is the cluster, not the range
A range of $49 to $599 is true and nearly useless — it is two outliers and a lot of air. The useful fact is where the prices bunch up.<table class="price-bands">
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38 of 71 sit between $125 and $149. If you want one number to carry into a phone call, it is $135. A quote much above $200 is worth questioning, and a quote above $400 usually means you are being priced for a different test — see calcium score vs CT angiogram.
The national chains charge $199The two national self-pay imaging chains that rank for these searches — American
Health Imaging and Touchstone Medical Imaging — both publish $199. We list 6 Touchstone locations at exactly that price, so this is not a comparison against a competitor’s marketing; it is in our own data.
The median across all 71 facilities is $135. The chains are above it, not below. Convenience and a national booking system are worth something, but if price is what you are optimising, a local hospital outpatient department is usually cheaper than the chain advertising to you.
Why there is a cash price at all
Insurers generally do not cover coronary calcium scoring as a screening test. Medicare has no national coverage determination for it, and most commercial plans follow suit for asymptomatic screening. That is the whole reason a published self-pay price exists: the facility knows you are paying directly, so it quotes a number rather than running it through a claim.
It also means the cash price is often lower than what the same scan would be billed at through insurance. Ask for the self-pay price even if you have coverage, then compare.
Ask whether the radiologist’s read is included
This is the question almost nobody asks and the commonest way a $135 quote turns into a bigger bill. The scan and the interpretation can be billed separately.Only 9 of the 71 priced facilities say either way on their own page. For the other 62, you have to ask. The words that work: “Does that price include the radiologist’s interpretation, or is that billed separately?”
97 facilities publish no price at all
Of the 168 facilities we track, 97 do coronary calcium scoring and publish no self-pay number anywhere on their site. That is more than half, and it is worth saying plainly rather than hiding behind an average.
We list them anyway, marked Call for cash price, because knowing a facility exists three miles away is useful even when the price is not posted. They are not more expensive as a rule — several of the cheapest prices we found were only quoted on the phone.
HSA and FSA
A coronary calcium scan is a qualifying medical expense, so an HSA or FSA card generally works. Whether a given front desk will take the card is a different question.16 of the facilities we track confirm on their own page that they accept HSA or FSA. The rest do not say. We record that as unknown rather than guessing, so if a card is how you intend to pay, ask when you call.
What to say on the phone
Ask for the exam by code. “Heart scan” is ambiguous and schedulers will sometimes book you into a contrast study that costs several times more.
- “What is your self-pay price for CPT 75571, coronary calcium scoring?”
- “Does that include the radiologist’s read?”
- “Do I need an order from a doctor first?”
- “Do you take an HSA or FSA card?”
If the number that comes back is several hundred dollars, ask whether they are quoting 75571 or a CT angiogram. It is a common mix-up and it is expensive.
Where these numbers come from
Every price above was read from the facility’s own website, and each listing records the URL and the date we read it. None has yet been confirmed by phone. That is why listings on this site are marked unverified and stay out of ranked search results until someone calls them.
We do not take payment to add, remove, or re-price a listing. See how we verify for the method, and advertising for what is and is not paid.
Prices change without telling us. Treat everything here as the number to start a phone call with, not the number you will be charged.
Last updated September 16, 2026.