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Procedure price report · Other non-OR therapeutic procedures on respiratory system

Removal of a tunneled chest drainage catheter

CPT 32552the billing code this page is about

Removal of a long-term tunneled catheter with a cuff that was previously placed to drain fluid from the space around the lung.

Hospitals typically charge $929 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,983 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $989. Most fall between $428 and $1,853 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,983
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 1,983 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
$281$485$929$1,648$2,722

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($281 vs $2,722).

How the prices are spread

$208 – $283: 103 hospitals$208$283 – $384: 140 hospitals$384 – $522: 198 hospitals$384$522 – $709: 204 hospitals$709 – $963: 307 hospitals$709$963 – $1,309: 265 hospitals$1,309 – $1,779: 231 hospitals$1,309$1,779 – $2,417: 170 hospitals$2,417 – $3,284: 104 hospitals$2,417$3,284 – $4,463: 76 hospitals$3,284median $929price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,798 of 1,983 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$208$283103
$283$384140
$384$522198
$522$709204
$709$963307
$963$1,309265
$1,309$1,779231
$1,779$2,417170
$2,417$3,284104
$3,284$4,46376

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$641
Median cash price$929
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.45×

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 $929.

Alaska: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $548 across 12 hospitalsME$548Vermont: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $287 across 11 hospitalsNH$287Washington: median $1,054 across 48 hospitalsWA$1,054Idaho: median $1,019 across 13 hospitalsID$1,019Montana: median $281 across 13 hospitalsMT$281North Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $717 across 44 hospitalsMN$717Illinois: median $937 across 79 hospitalsIL$937Wisconsin: median $629 across 75 hospitalsWI$629Michigan: median $863 across 76 hospitalsMI$863New York: median $1,338 across 85 hospitalsNY$1,338Massachusetts: median $1,493 across 37 hospitalsMA$1,493Oregon: median $960 across 42 hospitalsOR$960Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $1,991 across 11 hospitalsSD$1,991Iowa: median $507 across 34 hospitalsIA$507Indiana: median $484 across 51 hospitalsIN$484Ohio: median $1,849 across 107 hospitalsOH$1,849Pennsylvania: median $1,045 across 100 hospitalsPA$1,045New Jersey: median $825 across 56 hospitalsNJ$825Connecticut: median $1,314 across 18 hospitalsCT$1,314Rhode Island: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,383 across 160 hospitalsCA$1,383Utah: median $474 across 26 hospitalsUT$474Colorado: median $637 across 42 hospitalsCO$637Nebraska: median $399 across 28 hospitalsNE$399Missouri: median $905 across 48 hospitalsMO$905Kentucky: median $877 across 19 hospitalsKY$877West Virginia: median $464 across 21 hospitalsWV$464Virginia: median $480 across 39 hospitalsVA$480Maryland: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $645 across 31 hospitalsAZ$645New Mexico: median $747 across 12 hospitalsNM$747Kansas: median $426 across 35 hospitalsKS$426Arkansas: median $434 across 16 hospitalsAR$434Tennessee: median $288 across 40 hospitalsTN$288North Carolina: median $1,014 across 47 hospitalsNC$1,014South Carolina: median $710 across 36 hospitalsSC$710Oklahoma: median $535 across 29 hospitalsOK$535Louisiana: median $593 across 28 hospitalsLA$593Mississippi: median $474 across 31 hospitalsMS$474Alabama: median $893 across 17 hospitalsAL$893Georgia: median $1,223 across 64 hospitalsGA$1,223Hawaii: median $690 across 11 hospitalsHI$690Texas: median $1,085 across 138 hospitalsTX$1,085Florida: median $1,703 across 94 hospitalsFL$1,703
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $929. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Dakota SD11$1,991+114%$1,320 – $5,592
Ohio OH107$1,849+99%$874 – $2,426
Florida FL94$1,703+83%$848 – $2,667
Massachusetts MA37$1,493+61%$880 – $2,300
California CA160$1,383+49%$665 – $4,086
New York NY85$1,338+44%$559 – $2,062
Connecticut CT18$1,314+42%$740 – $2,068
Georgia GA64$1,223+32%$696 – $1,699
Texas TX138$1,085+17%$891 – $2,118
Washington WA48$1,054+13%$348 – $1,440
Pennsylvania PA100$1,045+13%$615 – $1,684
Idaho ID13$1,019+10%$885 – $1,672
North Carolina NC47$1,014+9%$450 – $1,305
Oregon OR42$960+3%$448 – $1,785
Illinois IL79$937+1%$375 – $2,149
Missouri MO48$905−3%$545 – $1,825
Alabama AL17$893−4%$377 – $1,180
Kentucky KY19$877−6%$254 – $2,483
Michigan MI76$863−7%$500 – $1,553
New Jersey NJ56$825−11%$684 – $4,627
New Mexico NM12$747−20%$489 – $1,373
Minnesota MN44$717−23%$350 – $2,078
South Carolina SC36$710−24%$325 – $1,012
Hawaii HI11$690−26%$567 – $1,193
Arizona AZ31$645−31%$511 – $7,982
Colorado CO42$637−31%$404 – $1,234
Wisconsin WI75$629−32%$428 – $1,239
Louisiana LA28$593−36%$202 – $1,425
Maine ME12$548−41%$435 – $925
Oklahoma OK29$535−42%$298 – $1,070
Iowa IA34$507−45%$388 – $1,159
Indiana IN51$484−48%$174 – $1,296
Virginia VA39$480−48%$289 – $867
Utah UT26$474−49%$403 – $474
Mississippi MS31$474−49%$262 – $1,206
West Virginia WV21$464−50%$167 – $1,135
Arkansas AR16$434−53%$364 – $795
Kansas KS35$426−54%$196 – $912
Nebraska NE28$399−57%$318 – $643
Tennessee TN40$288−69%$242 – $637
New Hampshire NH11$287−69%$159 – $1,975
Montana MT13$281−70%$208 – $718
Alaska AK8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD6not 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 $929.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,682$939$471 – $1,910
Children’s31$1,225$598 – $2,677
Critical access261$567$281 – $1,538
Ownership
For-profit199$1,088$535 – $2,769
Government275$739$352 – $1,276
Non-profit1,500$939$428 – $1,853
System affiliation
Part of a system1,692$939$431 – $1,917
Independent291$811$379 – $1,554

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,666
Median cash price$929
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

1,494 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $995 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,055; most fall between $450 and $1,911.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,494 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
$301$515$995$1,711$2,609

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($301 vs $2,609).

Of the 1,591 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,494 gave a usable cash price; 34 carried a plausibility flag, 1 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

1,983 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (50%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,123 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,983
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here65
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded4
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded70
Hospitals that filed this code2,123

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 non-OR therapeutic procedures on respiratory system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Rmvl Ndwellg Tunneled Pleural Catheter W/Cuff.

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, “Removal of a tunneled chest drainage catheter (CPT 32552) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-32552-removal-of-a-tunneled-chest-drainage-catheter