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Procedure price report · Other OR heart procedures

Drain around the heart, under age 6 or heart defect

CPT 33018the billing code this page is about

A catheter is placed through the skin into the sac around the heart and left in to drain fluid, for children under 6 years old or any patient with a congenital heart defect.

Hospitals typically charge $1,944 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 770 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,091. Most fall between $684 and $3,986 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
770
States
49
Filings dated
Jun 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 770 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
$486$914$1,944$3,454$5,384

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($486 vs $5,384).

How the prices are spread

$322 – $438: 40 hospitals$322$438 – $595: 31 hospitals$595 – $808: 72 hospitals$595$808 – $1,098: 55 hospitals$1,098 – $1,491: 60 hospitals$1,098$1,491 – $2,026: 102 hospitals$2,026 – $2,753: 114 hospitals$2,026$2,753 – $3,740: 86 hospitals$3,740 – $5,081: 94 hospitals$3,740$5,081 – $6,903: 50 hospitals$5,081median $1,944price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (704 of 770 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$322$43840
$438$59531
$595$80872
$808$1,09855
$1,098$1,49160
$1,491$2,026102
$2,026$2,753114
$2,753$3,74086
$3,740$5,08194
$5,081$6,90350

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,944.

Alaska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,899 across 18 hospitalsWA$1,899Idaho: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $4,316 across 19 hospitalsMN$4,316Illinois: median $1,198 across 23 hospitalsIL$1,198Wisconsin: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWIMichigan: median $2,074 across 37 hospitalsMI$2,074New York: median $3,378 across 22 hospitalsNY$3,378Massachusetts: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $1,084 across 21 hospitalsOR$1,084Nevada: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,581 across 16 hospitalsIA$1,581Indiana: median $1,732 across 26 hospitalsIN$1,732Ohio: median $3,454 across 37 hospitalsOH$3,454Pennsylvania: median $2,224 across 24 hospitalsPA$2,224New Jersey: median $5,741 across 24 hospitalsNJ$5,741Connecticut: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $2,187 across 87 hospitalsCA$2,187Utah: median $3,124 across 22 hospitalsUT$3,124Colorado: median $1,212 across 20 hospitalsCO$1,212Nebraska: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $1,758 across 12 hospitalsMO$1,758Kentucky: median $793 across 10 hospitalsKY$793West Virginia: median $404 across 14 hospitalsWV$404Virginia: median $2,354 across 13 hospitalsVA$2,354Maryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $864 across 14 hospitalsAZ$864New Mexico: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: median $2,253 across 22 hospitalsNC$2,253South Carolina: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $869 across 15 hospitalsOK$869Louisiana: median $954 across 18 hospitalsLA$954Mississippi: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $2,254 across 31 hospitalsGA$2,254Hawaii: median $1,937 across 11 hospitalsHI$1,937Texas: median $1,772 across 69 hospitalsTX$1,772Florida: median $1,760 across 38 hospitalsFL$1,760
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,944. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ24$5,741+195%$4,350 – $10,108
Minnesota MN19$4,316+122%$613 – $5,064
Ohio OH37$3,454+78%$2,242 – $3,798
New York NY22$3,378+74%$700 – $3,952
Utah UT22$3,124+61%$3,124 – $3,124
Virginia VA13$2,354+21%$964 – $2,918
Georgia GA31$2,254+16%$2,254 – $2,688
North Carolina NC22$2,253+16%$1,825 – $4,155
Pennsylvania PA24$2,224+14%$889 – $5,015
California CA87$2,187+12%$666 – $5,383
Michigan MI37$2,074+7%$322 – $4,491
Hawaii HI11$1,9370%$280 – $3,192
Washington WA18$1,899−2%$1,052 – $3,890
Texas TX69$1,772−9%$1,609 – $4,719
Florida FL38$1,760−9%$1,394 – $3,181
Missouri MO12$1,758−10%$1,571 – $6,378
Indiana IN26$1,732−11%$793 – $4,992
Iowa IA16$1,581−19%$607 – $4,798
Colorado CO20$1,212−38%$1,011 – $2,704
Illinois IL23$1,198−38%$531 – $4,844
Oregon OR21$1,084−44%$668 – $1,543
Louisiana LA18$954−51%$247 – $1,825
Oklahoma OK15$869−55%$468 – $3,837
Arizona AZ14$864−56%$595 – $1,140
Kentucky KY10$793−59%$531 – $1,146
West Virginia WV14$404−79%$304 – $3,873
Nebraska NE9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wisconsin WI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not 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 $1,944.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care661$1,937$793 – $3,835
Children’s37$3,290$1,142 – $5,610
Critical access71$2,313$400 – $4,990
Ownership
For-profit71$2,254$656 – $4,719
Government84$1,937$700 – $2,762
Non-profit614$1,944$684 – $4,157
System affiliation
Part of a system692$2,047$727 – $3,970
Independent78$1,543$613 – $4,271

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,410
Median cash price$1,944
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

616 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,173 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,105; most fall between $816 and $3,617.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 616 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
$595$964$2,173$3,227$5,064

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.5× what the cheapest tenth charges ($595 vs $5,064).

Of the 670 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 616 gave a usable cash price; 30 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 24 a list price only.

How complete is this

770 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (19%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 860 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted770
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) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded52
Hospitals that filed this code860

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • 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 heart procedures family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Perq Prcrd Drg 0-5yr/Any Age W/Cgen Car Anomaly.

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, “Drain around the heart, under age 6 or heart defect (CPT 33018) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-33018-drain-around-the-heart-under-age-6-or-heart-defect