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Procedure price report · Other diagnostic procedures of respiratory tract and mediastinum

Needle biopsy of the lining of the lung

CPT 32400the billing code this page is about

A needle is passed through the skin to take a tissue sample from the membrane lining the chest cavity for laboratory testing.

Hospitals typically charge $1,489 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,749 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,544. Most fall between $690 and $2,761 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,749
States
50
Filings dated
Dec 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 1,749 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
$431$823$1,489$2,386$4,094

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.5× what the cheapest tenth charges ($431 vs $4,094).

How the prices are spread

$234 – $319: 34 hospitals$234$319 – $434: 57 hospitals$434 – $592: 93 hospitals$434$592 – $806: 150 hospitals$806 – $1,098: 182 hospitals$806$1,098 – $1,496: 282 hospitals$1,496 – $2,039: 312 hospitals$1,496$2,039 – $2,778: 213 hospitals$2,778 – $3,784: 138 hospitals$2,778$3,784 – $5,156: 119 hospitals$3,784median $1,489price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,580 of 1,749 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$234$31934
$319$43457
$434$59293
$592$806150
$806$1,098182
$1,098$1,496282
$1,496$2,039312
$2,039$2,778213
$2,778$3,784138
$3,784$5,156119

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,687
Median cash price$1,489
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.88×

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 $1,489.

Alaska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,380 across 47 hospitalsWA$1,380Idaho: median $3,467 across 10 hospitalsID$3,467Montana: median $284 across 14 hospitalsMT$284North Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $752 across 46 hospitalsMN$752Illinois: median $1,527 across 82 hospitalsIL$1,527Wisconsin: median $1,270 across 72 hospitalsWI$1,270Michigan: median $1,133 across 64 hospitalsMI$1,133New York: median $1,965 across 68 hospitalsNY$1,965Massachusetts: median $1,416 across 28 hospitalsMA$1,416Oregon: median $2,664 across 33 hospitalsOR$2,664Nevada: median $1,266 across 11 hospitalsNV$1,266Wyoming: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $892 across 27 hospitalsIA$892Indiana: median $891 across 53 hospitalsIN$891Ohio: median $1,789 across 100 hospitalsOH$1,789Pennsylvania: median $1,940 across 83 hospitalsPA$1,940New Jersey: median $2,162 across 55 hospitalsNJ$2,162Connecticut: median $1,875 across 14 hospitalsCT$1,875Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $2,972 across 146 hospitalsCA$2,972Utah: median $1,298 across 15 hospitalsUT$1,298Colorado: median $1,495 across 40 hospitalsCO$1,495Nebraska: median $750 across 19 hospitalsNE$750Missouri: median $1,638 across 35 hospitalsMO$1,638Kentucky: median $1,070 across 24 hospitalsKY$1,070West Virginia: median $1,507 across 14 hospitalsWV$1,507Virginia: median $1,133 across 32 hospitalsVA$1,133Maryland: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $788 across 35 hospitalsAZ$788New Mexico: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $1,422 across 18 hospitalsKS$1,422Arkansas: median $863 across 13 hospitalsAR$863Tennessee: median $464 across 37 hospitalsTN$464North Carolina: median $820 across 46 hospitalsNC$820South Carolina: median $1,691 across 32 hospitalsSC$1,691Oklahoma: median $1,360 across 37 hospitalsOK$1,360Louisiana: median $765 across 23 hospitalsLA$765Mississippi: median $853 across 22 hospitalsMS$853Alabama: median $1,082 across 20 hospitalsAL$1,082Georgia: median $1,228 across 51 hospitalsGA$1,228Hawaii: median $1,161 across 11 hospitalsHI$1,161Texas: median $1,615 across 126 hospitalsTX$1,615Florida: median $1,507 across 77 hospitalsFL$1,507
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,489. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Idaho ID10$3,467+133%$1,285 – $4,347
California CA146$2,972+100%$1,222 – $5,156
Oregon OR33$2,664+79%$266 – $3,976
New Jersey NJ55$2,162+45%$1,771 – $4,881
New York NY68$1,965+32%$614 – $3,506
Pennsylvania PA83$1,940+30%$1,170 – $2,858
Connecticut CT14$1,875+26%$1,097 – $5,251
Ohio OH100$1,789+20%$1,188 – $3,247
South Carolina SC32$1,691+14%$1,313 – $2,410
Missouri MO35$1,638+10%$876 – $1,793
Texas TX126$1,615+8%$1,112 – $2,168
Illinois IL82$1,527+3%$543 – $2,609
West Virginia WV14$1,507+1%$941 – $2,282
Florida FL77$1,507+1%$621 – $3,050
Colorado CO40$1,4950%$1,076 – $2,555
Kansas KS18$1,422−5%$593 – $2,080
Massachusetts MA28$1,416−5%$826 – $2,021
Washington WA47$1,380−7%$750 – $2,479
Oklahoma OK37$1,360−9%$836 – $1,907
Utah UT15$1,298−13%$758 – $1,298
Wisconsin WI72$1,270−15%$620 – $1,871
Nevada NV11$1,266−15%$607 – $1,796
Georgia GA51$1,228−18%$852 – $3,221
Hawaii HI11$1,161−22%$565 – $3,869
Michigan MI64$1,133−24%$472 – $2,271
Virginia VA32$1,133−24%$802 – $1,312
Alabama AL20$1,082−27%$244 – $1,920
Kentucky KY24$1,070−28%$207 – $2,902
Iowa IA27$892−40%$398 – $1,375
Indiana IN53$891−40%$526 – $1,580
Arkansas AR13$863−42%$346 – $1,512
Mississippi MS22$853−43%$476 – $1,155
North Carolina NC46$820−45%$431 – $1,132
Arizona AZ35$788−47%$515 – $2,350
Louisiana LA23$765−49%$546 – $1,697
Minnesota MN46$752−49%$685 – $1,766
Nebraska NE19$750−50%$405 – $1,565
Tennessee TN37$464−69%$388 – $1,001
Montana MT14$284−81%$250 – $1,380
Maine ME9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD4not 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 $1,489.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,500$1,529$755 – $2,739
Children’s44$2,855$1,161 – $7,618
Critical access197$969$378 – $2,158
Ownership
For-profit157$1,688$717 – $3,384
Government226$1,117$467 – $2,250
Non-profit1,358$1,513$728 – $2,761
System affiliation
Part of a system1,514$1,493$703 – $2,739
Independent235$1,474$560 – $3,031

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,601
Median cash price$1,489
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

1,388 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,398 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,527; most fall between $703 and $2,761.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,388 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
$464$820$1,398$2,389$4,094

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($464 vs $4,094).

Of the 1,480 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,388 gave a usable cash price; 26 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 65 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,749 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (44%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,887 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,749
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here60
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded2
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded75
Hospitals that filed this code1,887

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 diagnostic procedures of respiratory tract and mediastinum family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Biopsy Pleura Percutaneous Needle.

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, “Needle biopsy of the lining of the lung (CPT 32400) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-32400-needle-biopsy-of-the-lining-of-the-lung