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Procedure price report · Incision and drainage, skin and subcutaneous tissue

Drainage of deep abscess behind the lower spine

CPT 22015the billing code this page is about

Open surgery to cut into and drain a deep infection or pus pocket behind the lumbar, sacral, or lumbosacral spine.

Hospitals typically charge $2,286 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 358 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,691. Most fall between $1,381 and $5,339 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
358
States
47
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 358 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$797$1,533$2,286$4,876$8,979

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($797 vs $8,979).

How the prices are spread

$566 – $771: 17 hospitals$566$771 – $1,049: 14 hospitals$1,049 – $1,428: 34 hospitals$1,049$1,428 – $1,944: 53 hospitals$1,944 – $2,646: 70 hospitals$1,944$2,646 – $3,602: 38 hospitals$3,602 – $4,903: 37 hospitals$3,602$4,903 – $6,673: 24 hospitals$6,673 – $9,084: 24 hospitals$6,673$9,084 – $12,366: 13 hospitals$9,084median $2,286price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (324 of 358 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$566$77117
$771$1,04914
$1,049$1,42834
$1,428$1,94453
$1,944$2,64670
$2,646$3,60238
$3,602$4,90337
$4,903$6,67324
$6,673$9,08424
$9,084$12,36613

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$7,413
Median cash price$2,286
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.31×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $2,286.

Alaska: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: median $5,281 across 13 hospitalsID$5,281Montana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $3,405 across 19 hospitalsMN$3,405Illinois: median $2,036 across 12 hospitalsIL$2,036Wisconsin: median $4,876 across 28 hospitalsWI$4,876Michigan: median $1,537 across 33 hospitalsMI$1,537New York: median $2,890 across 26 hospitalsNY$2,890Massachusetts: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $2,286 across 20 hospitalsIA$2,286Indiana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $2,231 across 12 hospitalsOH$2,231Pennsylvania: median $1,431 across 19 hospitalsPA$1,431New Jersey: median $5,339 across 15 hospitalsNJ$5,339Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $2,717 across 11 hospitalsCA$2,717Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $1,987 across 13 hospitalsOK$1,987Louisiana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTXFlorida: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,286. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ15$5,339+134%$3,986 – $6,311
Idaho ID13$5,281+131%$1,882 – $14,738
Wisconsin WI28$4,876+113%$2,019 – $6,673
Minnesota MN19$3,405+49%$1,980 – $3,405
New York NY26$2,890+26%$1,517 – $7,413
California CA11$2,717+19%$2,160 – $3,906
Iowa IA20$2,2860%$1,792 – $2,286
Ohio OH12$2,231−2%$1,451 – $3,286
Illinois IL12$2,036−11%$733 – $2,591
Oklahoma OK13$1,987−13%$1,987 – $1,987
Michigan MI33$1,537−33%$1,422 – $4,876
Pennsylvania PA19$1,431−37%$592 – $6,078
Texas TX9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $2,286.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care268$2,286$1,355 – $5,741
Children’s10fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access79$2,508$1,537 – $6,564
Ownership
For-profit40$3,605$1,252 – $10,816
Government52$2,249$1,650 – $3,500
Non-profit265$2,254$1,346 – $4,876
System affiliation
Part of a system267$2,286$1,346 – $5,741
Independent91$2,374$1,470 – $5,208

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,930
Median cash price$2,286
Cash as a share of list, median hospital70%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 30%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

202 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,987 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,470; most fall between $1,271 and $4,876.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 202 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$797$1,355$1,987$3,545$5,773

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.2× what the cheapest tenth charges ($797 vs $5,773).

Of the 230 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 202 gave a usable cash price; 17 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 11 a list price only.

How complete is this

358 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (9%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 424 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted358
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here42
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded23
Hospitals that filed this code424

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Incision and drainage, skin and subcutaneous tissue family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as I&D Deep Abscess Pst Spine Lumbar Sac/Lumbosac.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Drainage of deep abscess behind the lower spine (CPT 22015) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-22015-drainage-of-deep-abscess-behind-the-lower-spine