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Procedure price report · Other OR therapeutic procedures on respiratory system

Surgical closure of a tracheostomy opening

CPT 31820the billing code this page is about

Closing a breathing hole or opening in the windpipe surgically, without any skin or tissue flap reconstruction.

Hospitals typically charge $2,378 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 470 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,468. Most fall between $720 and $5,036 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
470
States
46
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 470 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
$506$793$2,378$4,145$7,676

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($506 vs $7,676).

How the prices are spread

$369 – $506: 20 hospitals$369$506 – $695: 48 hospitals$695 – $955: 60 hospitals$695$955 – $1,312: 28 hospitals$1,312 – $1,803: 26 hospitals$1,312$1,803 – $2,477: 35 hospitals$2,477 – $3,402: 43 hospitals$2,477$3,402 – $4,674: 89 hospitals$4,674 – $6,421: 35 hospitals$4,674$6,421 – $8,820: 45 hospitals$6,421median $2,378price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (429 of 470 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$369$50620
$506$69548
$695$95560
$955$1,31228
$1,312$1,80326
$1,803$2,47735
$2,477$3,40243
$3,402$4,67489
$4,674$6,42135
$6,421$8,82045

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,387
Median cash price$2,378
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.70×

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 $2,378.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,650 across 15 hospitalsMN$1,650Illinois: median $793 across 16 hospitalsIL$793Wisconsin: median $2,233 across 39 hospitalsWI$2,233Michigan: median $1,821 across 20 hospitalsMI$1,821New York: median $3,838 across 31 hospitalsNY$3,838Massachusetts: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $850 across 14 hospitalsOR$850Nevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 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 $1,070 across 15 hospitalsIA$1,070Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $1,214 across 13 hospitalsOH$1,214Pennsylvania: median $2,077 across 24 hospitalsPA$2,077New Jersey: median $4,290 across 31 hospitalsNJ$4,290Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $8,820 across 31 hospitalsCA$8,820Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $3,134 across 15 hospitalsMO$3,134Kentucky: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 9 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: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 6 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 $549 across 14 hospitalsOK$549Louisiana: median $1,900 across 15 hospitalsLA$1,900Mississippi: median $682 across 10 hospitalsMS$682Alabama: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $3,866 across 35 hospitalsTX$3,866Florida: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,378. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA31$8,820+271%$3,567 – $8,820
New Jersey NJ31$4,290+80%$3,593 – $5,110
Texas TX35$3,866+63%$3,201 – $3,866
New York NY31$3,838+61%$979 – $4,139
Missouri MO15$3,134+32%$522 – $3,652
Wisconsin WI39$2,233−6%$757 – $3,071
Pennsylvania PA24$2,077−13%$214 – $5,036
Louisiana LA15$1,900−20%$951 – $2,432
Michigan MI20$1,821−23%$605 – $4,559
Minnesota MN15$1,650−31%$758 – $1,650
Ohio OH13$1,214−49%$528 – $5,655
Iowa IA15$1,070−55%$1,070 – $1,070
Oregon OR14$850−64%$807 – $7,777
Illinois IL16$793−67%$506 – $6,115
Mississippi MS10$682−71%$603 – $1,182
Oklahoma OK14$549−77%$549 – $4,746
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not 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 $2,378.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care377$3,134$748 – $5,299
Children’s14fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access78$1,310$682 – $3,071
Ownership
For-profit42$3,201$605 – $4,783
Government62$1,526$664 – $4,101
Non-profit365$2,266$752 – $5,134
System affiliation
Part of a system388$2,970$752 – $5,134
Independent82$1,202$664 – $4,283

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,085
Median cash price$2,378
Cash as a share of list, median hospital60%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 40%. 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

291 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,722 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,059; most fall between $549 and $5,134.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 291 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
$417$611$1,722$3,866$8,795

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 21× what the cheapest tenth charges ($417 vs $8,795).

Of the 311 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 291 gave a usable cash price; 16 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 4 a list price only.

How complete is this

470 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (12%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 512 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted470
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here37
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 — excluded4
Hospitals that filed this code512

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 OR therapeutic procedures on respiratory system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as PR Surg Closure Trach/Fistula.

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, “Surgical closure of a tracheostomy opening (CPT 31820) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-31820-surgical-closure-of-a-tracheostomy-opening