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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons

Draining a deep abscess of the upper arm or elbow

CPT 23930the billing code this page is about

Surgical incision to open and drain a deep collection of pus or blood in the upper arm or elbow area.

Hospitals typically charge $2,233 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,118 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,278. Most fall between $569 and $4,830 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,118
States
50
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 1,118 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
$398$710$2,233$4,184$7,017

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($398 vs $7,017).

How the prices are spread

$300 – $417: 82 hospitals$300$417 – $581: 89 hospitals$581 – $808: 97 hospitals$581$808 – $1,124: 88 hospitals$1,124 – $1,563: 79 hospitals$1,124$1,563 – $2,174: 64 hospitals$2,174 – $3,025: 115 hospitals$2,174$3,025 – $4,208: 181 hospitals$4,208 – $5,853: 96 hospitals$4,208$5,853 – $8,143: 118 hospitals$5,853median $2,233price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,009 of 1,118 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$300$41782
$417$58189
$581$80897
$808$1,12488
$1,124$1,56379
$1,563$2,17464
$2,174$3,025115
$3,025$4,208181
$4,208$5,85396
$5,853$8,143118

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$2,968
Median cash price$2,233
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.75×

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 $2,233.

Alaska: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $1,382 across 11 hospitalsME$1,382Vermont: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $503 across 11 hospitalsNH$503Washington: median $2,197 across 38 hospitalsWA$2,197Idaho: median $3,500 across 15 hospitalsID$3,500Montana: median $614 across 11 hospitalsMT$614North Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,065 across 28 hospitalsMN$1,065Illinois: median $844 across 33 hospitalsIL$844Wisconsin: median $1,524 across 37 hospitalsWI$1,524Michigan: median $420 across 35 hospitalsMI$420New York: median $3,387 across 56 hospitalsNY$3,387Massachusetts: median $3,348 across 10 hospitalsMA$3,348Oregon: median $842 across 40 hospitalsOR$842Nevada: 7 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 $873 across 36 hospitalsIA$873Indiana: median $531 across 31 hospitalsIN$531Ohio: median $3,979 across 45 hospitalsOH$3,979Pennsylvania: median $3,082 across 38 hospitalsPA$3,082New Jersey: median $3,819 across 36 hospitalsNJ$3,819Connecticut: median $1,755 across 10 hospitalsCT$1,755Rhode Island: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $3,323 across 87 hospitalsCA$3,323Utah: median $4,417 across 23 hospitalsUT$4,417Colorado: median $907 across 15 hospitalsCO$907Nebraska: median $960 across 26 hospitalsNE$960Missouri: median $1,486 across 21 hospitalsMO$1,486Kentucky: median $612 across 18 hospitalsKY$612West Virginia: median $232 across 14 hospitalsWV$232Virginia: median $2,153 across 39 hospitalsVA$2,153Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: median $2,067 across 12 hospitalsNM$2,067Kansas: median $627 across 17 hospitalsKS$627Arkansas: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $758 across 15 hospitalsTN$758North Carolina: median $2,871 across 16 hospitalsNC$2,871South Carolina: median $4,126 across 12 hospitalsSC$4,126Oklahoma: median $356 across 19 hospitalsOK$356Louisiana: median $1,333 across 12 hospitalsLA$1,333Mississippi: median $931 across 12 hospitalsMS$931Alabama: median $2,063 across 19 hospitalsAL$2,063Georgia: median $4,742 across 26 hospitalsGA$4,742Hawaii: median $5,394 across 10 hospitalsHI$5,394Texas: median $3,639 across 82 hospitalsTX$3,639Florida: median $3,212 across 36 hospitalsFL$3,212
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,233. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Hawaii HI10$5,394+142%$2,628 – $6,692
Georgia GA26$4,742+112%$2,874 – $6,766
Utah UT23$4,417+98%$4,184 – $5,231
South Carolina SC12$4,126+85%$3,565 – $7,461
Ohio OH45$3,979+78%$777 – $8,557
New Jersey NJ36$3,819+71%$3,321 – $6,311
Texas TX82$3,639+63%$2,730 – $8,143
Idaho ID15$3,500+57%$490 – $7,765
New York NY56$3,387+52%$549 – $4,582
Massachusetts MA10$3,348+50%$432 – $4,000
California CA87$3,323+49%$1,801 – $7,017
Florida FL36$3,212+44%$3,108 – $6,637
Pennsylvania PA38$3,082+38%$159 – $4,444
North Carolina NC16$2,871+29%$722 – $2,871
Washington WA38$2,197−2%$562 – $5,054
Virginia VA39$2,153−4%$1,378 – $3,589
New Mexico NM12$2,067−7%$954 – $3,334
Alabama AL19$2,063−8%$431 – $2,983
Connecticut CT10$1,755−21%$1,113 – $2,624
Wisconsin WI37$1,524−32%$1,060 – $2,241
Missouri MO21$1,486−33%$490 – $2,281
Maine ME11$1,382−38%$758 – $2,866
Louisiana LA12$1,333−40%$964 – $2,768
Minnesota MN28$1,065−52%$607 – $1,399
Nebraska NE26$960−57%$721 – $1,592
Mississippi MS12$931−58%$747 – $4,477
Colorado CO15$907−59%$412 – $7,529
Iowa IA36$873−61%$535 – $1,017
Illinois IL33$844−62%$398 – $2,993
Oregon OR40$842−62%$615 – $3,919
Tennessee TN15$758−66%$329 – $3,478
Kansas KS17$627−72%$354 – $2,152
Montana MT11$614−72%$327 – $1,080
Kentucky KY18$612−73%$360 – $11,492
Indiana IN31$531−76%$398 – $2,255
New Hampshire NH11$503−77%$188 – $2,096
Michigan MI35$420−81%$411 – $1,524
Oklahoma OK19$356−84%$356 – $4,766
West Virginia WV14$232−90%$229 – $588
Alaska AK9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not 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 $2,233.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care825$2,903$685 – $5,571
Children’s17fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access274$842$457 – $2,849
Ownership
For-profit97$3,004$655 – $6,102
Government208$1,196$539 – $3,575
Non-profit811$2,281$588 – $4,969
System affiliation
Part of a system884$2,730$653 – $5,394
Independent234$1,071$430 – $3,143

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,500
Median cash price$2,233
Cash as a share of list, median hospital62%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 38%. 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

758 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,751 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,703; most fall between $655 and $5,846.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 758 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
$415$850$2,751$4,845$7,461

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($415 vs $7,461).

Of the 832 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 758 gave a usable cash price; 28 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 46 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,118 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (28%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,226 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,118
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here58
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded50
Hospitals that filed this code1,226

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 Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as I&D Upper Arm/Elbow Deep Abscess/Hematoma.

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, “Draining a deep abscess of the upper arm or elbow (CPT 23930) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-23930-draining-a-deep-abscess-of-the-upper-arm-or-elbow