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Procedure price report · Extracorporeal circulation auxiliary to open heart procedures

Starting ECMO life support, vein-to-vein

CPT 33946the billing code this page is about

Setting up and starting an external machine that adds oxygen to the blood, with blood drawn from and returned to a vein; covers the initiation only, not daily upkeep.

Hospitals typically charge $3,572 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 810 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $4,116. Most fall between $869 and $9,270 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
810
States
49
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 810 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
$553$1,473$3,572$7,919$17,529

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 32× what the cheapest tenth charges ($553 vs $17,529).

How the prices are spread

$369 – $578: 50 hospitals$369$578 – $904: 74 hospitals$904 – $1,414: 33 hospitals$904$1,414 – $2,212: 95 hospitals$2,212 – $3,461: 99 hospitals$2,212$3,461 – $5,416: 117 hospitals$5,416 – $8,475: 109 hospitals$5,416$8,475 – $13,260: 73 hospitals$13,260 – $20,748: 54 hospitals$13,260$20,748 – $32,464: 27 hospitals$20,748median $3,572price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (731 of 810 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$369$57850
$578$90474
$904$1,41433
$1,414$2,21295
$2,212$3,46199
$3,461$5,416117
$5,416$8,475109
$8,475$13,26073
$13,260$20,74854
$20,748$32,46427

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $3,572.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $7,784 across 17 hospitalsWA$7,784Idaho: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $3,038 across 26 hospitalsMN$3,038Illinois: median $2,923 across 31 hospitalsIL$2,923Wisconsin: median $1,733 across 46 hospitalsWI$1,733Michigan: median $1,572 across 37 hospitalsMI$1,572New York: median $970 across 25 hospitalsNY$970Massachusetts: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $17,180 across 12 hospitalsOR$17,180Nevada: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $946 across 15 hospitalsIA$946Indiana: median $9,080 across 18 hospitalsIN$9,080Ohio: median $4,325 across 55 hospitalsOH$4,325Pennsylvania: median $3,868 across 30 hospitalsPA$3,868New Jersey: median $4,627 across 21 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $2,457 across 66 hospitalsCA$2,457Utah: median $2,949 across 22 hospitalsUT$2,949Colorado: median $3,016 across 17 hospitalsCO$3,016Nebraska: median $5,694 across 10 hospitalsNE$5,694Missouri: median $3,989 across 13 hospitalsMO$3,989Kentucky: median $851 across 10 hospitalsKY$851West Virginia: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: median $1,469 across 28 hospitalsVA$1,469Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $5,517 across 17 hospitalsAZ$5,517New Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $2,088 across 25 hospitalsTN$2,088North Carolina: median $17,529 across 15 hospitalsNC$17,529South Carolina: median $4,378 across 14 hospitalsSC$4,378Oklahoma: median $7,326 across 17 hospitalsOK$7,326Louisiana: median $1,722 across 11 hospitalsLA$1,722Mississippi: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $2,411 across 38 hospitalsGA$2,411Hawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: median $4,537 across 60 hospitalsTX$4,537Florida: median $9,233 across 38 hospitalsFL$9,233
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $3,572. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
North Carolina NC15$17,529+391%$2,890 – $17,529
Oregon OR12$17,180+381%$553 – $17,180
Florida FL38$9,233+158%$2,835 – $31,077
Indiana IN18$9,080+154%$537 – $13,684
Washington WA17$7,784+118%$2,643 – $7,784
Oklahoma OK17$7,326+105%$7,326 – $11,400
Nebraska NE10$5,694+59%$498 – $5,694
Arizona AZ17$5,517+54%$554 – $9,270
New Jersey NJ21$4,627+30%$1,965 – $5,741
Texas TX60$4,537+27%$2,780 – $9,649
South Carolina SC14$4,378+23%$4,378 – $11,655
Ohio OH55$4,325+21%$1,622 – $25,318
Missouri MO13$3,989+12%$909 – $5,729
Pennsylvania PA30$3,868+8%$222 – $6,191
Minnesota MN26$3,038−15%$2,396 – $3,912
Colorado CO17$3,016−16%$899 – $6,741
Utah UT22$2,949−17%$2,949 – $3,276
Illinois IL31$2,923−18%$610 – $5,518
California CA66$2,457−31%$767 – $14,047
Georgia GA38$2,411−33%$2,176 – $9,119
Tennessee TN25$2,088−42%$257 – $2,579
Wisconsin WI46$1,733−51%$1,572 – $40,575
Louisiana LA11$1,722−52%$771 – $6,684
Michigan MI37$1,572−56%$424 – $5,991
Virginia VA28$1,469−59%$689 – $20,142
New York NY25$970−73%$640 – $5,513
Iowa IA15$946−74%$762 – $6,111
Kentucky KY10$851−76%$316 – $851
Connecticut CT9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY1not 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 $3,572.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care700$3,868$837 – $9,239
Children’s34$7,784$1,225 – $24,756
Critical access72$2,579$1,500 – $5,194
Ownership
For-profit69$3,468$1,112 – $9,270
Government72$4,000$1,339 – $17,118
Non-profit665$3,564$837 – $9,204
System affiliation
Part of a system742$3,912$1,030 – $9,270
Independent68$1,501$573 – $8,978

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$5,780
Median cash price$3,572
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

694 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $3,468 and the average of the middle 60% is $4,039; most fall between $771 and $9,270.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 694 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
$553$1,292$3,468$7,784$17,180

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 31× what the cheapest tenth charges ($553 vs $17,180).

Of the 738 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 694 gave a usable cash price; 20 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

810 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (20%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 888 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted810
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here40
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 — excluded37
Hospitals that filed this code888

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 Extracorporeal circulation auxiliary to open heart procedures family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Ecmo/Ecls Initiation Veno-Venous.

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, “Starting ECMO life support, vein-to-vein (CPT 33946) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-33946-starting-ecmo-life-support-vein-to-vein