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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons

Draining a deep abscess or blood pocket in the lower leg

CPT 27603the billing code this page is about

A surgical cut into the lower leg or ankle to open and drain a deep collection of pus or clotted blood below the skin and muscle surface.

Hospitals typically charge $2,719 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,396 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,779. Most fall between $952 and $5,224 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,396
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 1,396 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
$635$1,121$2,719$4,588$7,241

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($635 vs $7,241).

How the prices are spread

$485 – $647: 84 hospitals$485$647 – $862: 78 hospitals$862 – $1,148: 123 hospitals$862$1,148 – $1,530: 106 hospitals$1,530 – $2,038: 120 hospitals$1,530$2,038 – $2,715: 116 hospitals$2,715 – $3,618: 171 hospitals$2,715$3,618 – $4,820: 217 hospitals$4,820 – $6,423: 135 hospitals$4,820$6,423 – $8,557: 114 hospitals$6,423median $2,719price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,264 of 1,396 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$485$64784
$647$86278
$862$1,148123
$1,148$1,530106
$1,530$2,038120
$2,038$2,715116
$2,715$3,618171
$3,618$4,820217
$4,820$6,423135
$6,423$8,557114

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$2,968
Median cash price$2,719
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.92×

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 $2,719.

Alaska: median $3,493 across 12 hospitalsAK$3,493Maine: median $1,007 across 10 hospitalsME$1,007Vermont: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $695 across 12 hospitalsNH$695Washington: median $1,646 across 40 hospitalsWA$1,646Idaho: median $2,175 across 15 hospitalsID$2,175Montana: median $778 across 10 hospitalsMT$778North Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,412 across 40 hospitalsMN$1,412Illinois: median $1,488 across 47 hospitalsIL$1,488Wisconsin: median $1,946 across 52 hospitalsWI$1,946Michigan: median $1,857 across 40 hospitalsMI$1,857New York: median $3,387 across 57 hospitalsNY$3,387Massachusetts: median $4,329 across 22 hospitalsMA$4,329Oregon: median $1,678 across 39 hospitalsOR$1,678Nevada: median $1,790 across 12 hospitalsNV$1,790Wyoming: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,309 across 45 hospitalsIA$1,309Indiana: median $1,166 across 38 hospitalsIN$1,166Ohio: median $3,290 across 76 hospitalsOH$3,290Pennsylvania: median $3,356 across 61 hospitalsPA$3,356New Jersey: median $3,986 across 40 hospitalsNJ$3,986Connecticut: median $2,814 across 17 hospitalsCT$2,814Rhode Island: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $4,529 across 96 hospitalsCA$4,529Utah: median $4,184 across 26 hospitalsUT$4,184Colorado: median $2,570 across 23 hospitalsCO$2,570Nebraska: median $1,805 across 26 hospitalsNE$1,805Missouri: median $2,368 across 31 hospitalsMO$2,368Kentucky: median $976 across 23 hospitalsKY$976West Virginia: median $1,052 across 19 hospitalsWV$1,052Virginia: median $4,300 across 23 hospitalsVA$4,300Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $2,562 across 14 hospitalsAZ$2,562New Mexico: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $820 across 24 hospitalsKS$820Arkansas: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $1,738 across 16 hospitalsTN$1,738North Carolina: median $3,631 across 26 hospitalsNC$3,631South Carolina: median $4,080 across 33 hospitalsSC$4,080Oklahoma: median $637 across 25 hospitalsOK$637Louisiana: median $2,075 across 20 hospitalsLA$2,075Mississippi: median $673 across 10 hospitalsMS$673Alabama: median $1,537 across 14 hospitalsAL$1,537Georgia: median $3,635 across 52 hospitalsGA$3,635Hawaii: median $2,628 across 10 hospitalsHI$2,628Texas: median $4,115 across 105 hospitalsTX$4,115Florida: median $3,916 across 40 hospitalsFL$3,916
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,719. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA96$4,529+67%$1,969 – $7,655
Massachusetts MA22$4,329+59%$2,028 – $8,887
Virginia VA23$4,300+58%$2,519 – $7,589
Utah UT26$4,184+54%$4,184 – $4,649
Texas TX105$4,115+51%$2,425 – $4,830
South Carolina SC33$4,080+50%$2,566 – $6,404
New Jersey NJ40$3,986+47%$3,171 – $6,727
Florida FL40$3,916+44%$1,696 – $7,272
Georgia GA52$3,635+34%$1,867 – $6,119
North Carolina NC26$3,631+34%$3,252 – $4,360
Alaska AK12$3,493+28%$3,203 – $5,037
New York NY57$3,387+25%$891 – $6,572
Pennsylvania PA61$3,356+23%$626 – $4,839
Ohio OH76$3,290+21%$1,753 – $6,105
Connecticut CT17$2,814+3%$2,029 – $4,611
Hawaii HI10$2,628−3%$608 – $5,208
Colorado CO23$2,570−5%$992 – $7,529
Arizona AZ14$2,562−6%$918 – $6,869
Missouri MO31$2,368−13%$740 – $5,745
Idaho ID15$2,175−20%$891 – $7,765
Louisiana LA20$2,075−24%$1,157 – $2,834
Wisconsin WI52$1,946−28%$1,437 – $2,315
Michigan MI40$1,857−32%$1,098 – $3,994
Nebraska NE26$1,805−34%$1,381 – $3,063
Nevada NV12$1,790−34%$1,004 – $3,080
Tennessee TN16$1,738−36%$719 – $3,632
Oregon OR39$1,678−38%$954 – $2,586
Washington WA40$1,646−39%$877 – $5,494
Alabama AL14$1,537−43%$772 – $3,592
Illinois IL47$1,488−45%$713 – $3,826
Minnesota MN40$1,412−48%$799 – $2,445
Iowa IA45$1,309−52%$755 – $2,074
Indiana IN38$1,166−57%$805 – $2,719
West Virginia WV19$1,052−61%$415 – $4,574
Maine ME10$1,007−63%$296 – $1,580
Kentucky KY23$976−64%$592 – $5,303
Kansas KS24$820−70%$573 – $1,242
Montana MT10$778−71%$431 – $1,571
New Hampshire NH12$695−74%$329 – $1,274
Mississippi MS10$673−75%$523 – $1,738
Oklahoma OK25$637−77%$572 – $3,331
Arkansas AR9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI2not 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 $2,719.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,040$3,323$1,227 – $5,810
Children’s20$2,329$1,320 – $5,825
Critical access332$1,350$740 – $2,920
Ownership
For-profit142$3,186$1,325 – $6,119
Government269$1,741$787 – $4,535
Non-profit981$2,861$991 – $5,230
System affiliation
Part of a system1,117$3,128$1,098 – $5,455
Independent279$1,359$716 – $3,565

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,362
Median cash price$2,719
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. 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

977 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,995 and the average of the middle 60% is $3,041; most fall between $989 and $5,715.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 977 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
$636$1,306$2,995$4,941$7,589

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($636 vs $7,589).

Of the 1,064 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 977 gave a usable cash price; 25 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 62 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,396 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (35%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,531 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,396
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here63
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded71
Hospitals that filed this code1,531

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 PR Drain Lower Leg Deep Absc/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 or blood pocket in the lower leg (CPT 27603) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-27603-draining-a-deep-abscess-or-blood-pocket-in-the-lower-leg