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Procedure price report · Incision of pleura, thoracentesis, chest drainage

Placement of a long-term tunneled chest drainage catheter

CPT 32550the billing code this page is about

A cuffed catheter is tunneled under the skin into the chest cavity so fluid around the lung can be drained repeatedly over time.

Hospitals typically charge $4,058 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,068 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $4,122. Most fall between $1,710 and $7,394 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,068
States
50
Filings dated
Feb 2024 – 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 2,068 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
$979$2,103$4,058$6,423$10,552

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($979 vs $10,552).

How the prices are spread

$490 – $677: 36 hospitals$490$677 – $936: 61 hospitals$936 – $1,294: 86 hospitals$936$1,294 – $1,789: 148 hospitals$1,789 – $2,472: 185 hospitals$1,789$2,472 – $3,417: 234 hospitals$3,417 – $4,723: 394 hospitals$3,417$4,723 – $6,529: 321 hospitals$6,529 – $9,025: 207 hospitals$6,529$9,025 – $12,474: 190 hospitals$9,025median $4,058price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,862 of 2,068 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$490$67736
$677$93661
$936$1,29486
$1,294$1,789148
$1,789$2,472185
$2,472$3,417234
$3,417$4,723394
$4,723$6,529321
$6,529$9,025207
$9,025$12,474190

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,658
Median cash price$4,058
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.11×

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 $4,058.

Alaska: median $4,580 across 10 hospitalsAK$4,580Maine: median $1,105 across 13 hospitalsME$1,105Vermont: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $4,129 across 56 hospitalsWA$4,129Idaho: median $4,847 across 16 hospitalsID$4,847Montana: median $1,281 across 16 hospitalsMT$1,281North Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $3,392 across 46 hospitalsMN$3,392Illinois: median $3,830 across 90 hospitalsIL$3,830Wisconsin: median $3,365 across 71 hospitalsWI$3,365Michigan: median $3,258 across 70 hospitalsMI$3,258New York: median $4,176 across 76 hospitalsNY$4,176Massachusetts: median $5,482 across 38 hospitalsMA$5,482Oregon: median $2,133 across 41 hospitalsOR$2,133Nevada: median $3,894 across 11 hospitalsNV$3,894Wyoming: 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 $1,924 across 37 hospitalsIA$1,924Indiana: median $1,951 across 57 hospitalsIN$1,951Ohio: median $5,524 across 112 hospitalsOH$5,524Pennsylvania: median $5,467 across 92 hospitalsPA$5,467New Jersey: median $4,627 across 55 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: median $5,054 across 17 hospitalsCT$5,054Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $5,469 across 166 hospitalsCA$5,469Utah: median $4,305 across 27 hospitalsUT$4,305Colorado: median $2,802 across 46 hospitalsCO$2,802Nebraska: median $1,895 across 32 hospitalsNE$1,895Missouri: median $3,568 across 53 hospitalsMO$3,568Kentucky: median $2,687 across 26 hospitalsKY$2,687West Virginia: median $2,207 across 21 hospitalsWV$2,207Virginia: median $3,892 across 41 hospitalsVA$3,892Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $2,075 across 36 hospitalsAZ$2,075New Mexico: median $4,011 across 10 hospitalsNM$4,011Kansas: median $2,267 across 28 hospitalsKS$2,267Arkansas: median $2,206 across 18 hospitalsAR$2,206Tennessee: median $1,378 across 44 hospitalsTN$1,378North Carolina: median $3,411 across 55 hospitalsNC$3,411South Carolina: median $4,195 across 37 hospitalsSC$4,195Oklahoma: median $2,103 across 34 hospitalsOK$2,103Louisiana: median $3,090 across 37 hospitalsLA$3,090Mississippi: median $1,969 across 34 hospitalsMS$1,969Alabama: median $3,336 across 23 hospitalsAL$3,336Georgia: median $5,222 across 64 hospitalsGA$5,222Hawaii: median $2,808 across 12 hospitalsHI$2,808Texas: median $4,915 across 144 hospitalsTX$4,915Florida: median $6,678 across 99 hospitalsFL$6,678
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $4,058. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL99$6,678+65%$2,156 – $12,028
Ohio OH112$5,524+36%$4,144 – $10,552
Massachusetts MA38$5,482+35%$2,720 – $6,801
California CA166$5,469+35%$2,880 – $10,536
Pennsylvania PA92$5,467+35%$3,522 – $10,692
Georgia GA64$5,222+29%$3,403 – $9,978
Connecticut CT17$5,054+25%$4,077 – $9,926
Texas TX144$4,915+21%$3,353 – $11,178
Idaho ID16$4,847+19%$4,062 – $8,630
New Jersey NJ55$4,627+14%$3,906 – $6,839
Alaska AK10$4,580+13%$986 – $6,907
Utah UT27$4,305+6%$3,659 – $4,305
South Carolina SC37$4,195+3%$3,476 – $5,922
New York NY76$4,176+3%$1,483 – $7,635
Washington WA56$4,129+2%$1,805 – $6,514
New Mexico NM10$4,011−1%$2,275 – $8,295
Nevada NV11$3,894−4%$2,311 – $6,634
Virginia VA41$3,892−4%$3,225 – $5,671
Illinois IL90$3,830−6%$1,664 – $7,623
Missouri MO53$3,568−12%$1,866 – $4,710
North Carolina NC55$3,411−16%$2,068 – $5,369
Minnesota MN46$3,392−16%$979 – $5,709
Wisconsin WI71$3,365−17%$3,125 – $4,748
Alabama AL23$3,336−18%$1,339 – $5,358
Michigan MI70$3,258−20%$415 – $5,960
Louisiana LA37$3,090−24%$1,668 – $4,186
Hawaii HI12$2,808−31%$908 – $8,426
Colorado CO46$2,802−31%$2,016 – $5,065
Kentucky KY26$2,687−34%$928 – $5,138
Kansas KS28$2,267−44%$600 – $4,550
West Virginia WV21$2,207−46%$224 – $3,333
Arkansas AR18$2,206−46%$880 – $2,844
Oregon OR41$2,133−47%$757 – $7,715
Oklahoma OK34$2,103−48%$1,662 – $4,669
Arizona AZ36$2,075−49%$1,302 – $10,860
Mississippi MS34$1,969−51%$1,210 – $4,088
Indiana IN57$1,951−52%$924 – $5,211
Iowa IA37$1,924−53%$1,115 – $5,302
Nebraska NE32$1,895−53%$1,607 – $3,166
Tennessee TN44$1,378−66%$1,146 – $4,477
Montana MT16$1,281−68%$815 – $2,227
Maine ME13$1,105−73%$531 – $3,055
New Hampshire NH9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY5not 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 $4,058.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,739$4,220$2,075 – $7,781
Children’s37$4,517$2,165 – $7,148
Critical access283$1,924$662 – $5,300
Ownership
For-profit224$4,610$2,532 – $10,860
Government289$3,336$1,166 – $6,039
Non-profit1,546$4,088$1,750 – $7,372
System affiliation
Part of a system1,737$4,195$1,891 – $7,781
Independent331$3,230$856 – $5,730

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$7,105
Median cash price$4,058
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

1,561 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $4,347 and the average of the middle 60% is $4,450; most fall between $1,942 and $8,119.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,561 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
$1,198$2,302$4,347$7,000$10,780

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.0× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,198 vs $10,780).

Of the 1,675 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,561 gave a usable cash price; 45 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 68 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,068 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (52%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,229 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,068
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here79
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded76
Hospitals that filed this code2,229

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 of pleura, thoracentesis, chest drainage family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Insertion Indwelling Tunneled Pleural Catheter.

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, “Placement of a long-term tunneled chest drainage catheter (CPT 32550) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-32550-placement-of-a-long-term-tunneled-chest-drainage-catheter