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Procedure price report · Other vascular catheterization, not heart

Central line placement, child under 5, not tunneled

CPT 36555the billing code this page is about

A catheter is inserted through a large vein toward the heart in a patient younger than 5 years, without being routed under the skin.

Hospitals typically charge $2,124 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,788 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,148. Most fall between $677 and $3,939 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,788
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 1,788 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
$352$944$2,124$3,535$5,607

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($352 vs $5,607).

How the prices are spread

$218 – $310: 62 hospitals$218$310 – $441: 74 hospitals$441 – $628: 104 hospitals$441$628 – $894: 106 hospitals$894 – $1,273: 162 hospitals$894$1,273 – $1,812: 195 hospitals$1,812 – $2,580: 270 hospitals$1,812$2,580 – $3,673: 320 hospitals$3,673 – $5,229: 205 hospitals$3,673$5,229 – $7,444: 113 hospitals$5,229median $2,124price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,611 of 1,788 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$218$31062
$310$44174
$441$628104
$628$894106
$894$1,273162
$1,273$1,812195
$1,812$2,580270
$2,580$3,673320
$3,673$5,229205
$5,229$7,444113

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,226
Median cash price$2,124
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.66×

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 $2,124.

Alaska: median $1,536 across 10 hospitalsAK$1,536Maine: median $1,092 across 14 hospitalsME$1,092Vermont: 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 $1,939 across 57 hospitalsWA$1,939Idaho: median $3,594 across 12 hospitalsID$3,594Montana: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $2,204 across 52 hospitalsMN$2,204Illinois: median $1,554 across 72 hospitalsIL$1,554Wisconsin: median $1,327 across 57 hospitalsWI$1,327Michigan: median $2,077 across 55 hospitalsMI$2,077New York: median $2,828 across 69 hospitalsNY$2,828Massachusetts: median $1,202 across 25 hospitalsMA$1,202Oregon: median $529 across 37 hospitalsOR$529Nevada: median $1,291 across 14 hospitalsNV$1,291Wyoming: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $2,833 across 10 hospitalsSD$2,833Iowa: median $762 across 36 hospitalsIA$762Indiana: median $1,431 across 50 hospitalsIN$1,431Ohio: median $2,677 across 87 hospitalsOH$2,677Pennsylvania: median $3,230 across 67 hospitalsPA$3,230New Jersey: median $4,085 across 44 hospitalsNJ$4,085Connecticut: median $2,727 across 12 hospitalsCT$2,727Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $2,999 across 145 hospitalsCA$2,999Utah: median $2,829 across 13 hospitalsUT$2,829Colorado: median $1,758 across 35 hospitalsCO$1,758Nebraska: median $514 across 26 hospitalsNE$514Missouri: median $1,157 across 35 hospitalsMO$1,157Kentucky: median $1,640 across 26 hospitalsKY$1,640West Virginia: median $2,865 across 21 hospitalsWV$2,865Virginia: median $1,971 across 45 hospitalsVA$1,971Maryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,798 across 28 hospitalsAZ$1,798New Mexico: median $2,305 across 15 hospitalsNM$2,305Kansas: median $1,104 across 18 hospitalsKS$1,104Arkansas: median $1,426 across 21 hospitalsAR$1,426Tennessee: median $574 across 34 hospitalsTN$574North Carolina: median $1,419 across 50 hospitalsNC$1,419South Carolina: median $2,196 across 33 hospitalsSC$2,196Oklahoma: median $1,030 across 40 hospitalsOK$1,030Louisiana: median $973 across 40 hospitalsLA$973Mississippi: median $706 across 38 hospitalsMS$706Alabama: median $1,583 across 20 hospitalsAL$1,583Georgia: median $2,686 across 54 hospitalsGA$2,686Hawaii: median $3,011 across 12 hospitalsHI$3,011Texas: median $2,432 across 131 hospitalsTX$2,432Florida: median $1,940 across 75 hospitalsFL$1,940
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,124. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ44$4,085+92%$3,484 – $6,311
Idaho ID12$3,594+69%$1,461 – $7,280
Pennsylvania PA67$3,230+52%$1,464 – $4,224
Hawaii HI12$3,011+42%$2,797 – $7,516
California CA145$2,999+41%$1,398 – $4,451
West Virginia WV21$2,865+35%$1,791 – $4,893
South Dakota SD10$2,833+33%$2,095 – $8,055
Utah UT13$2,829+33%$2,829 – $2,829
New York NY69$2,828+33%$698 – $3,941
Connecticut CT12$2,727+28%$1,169 – $4,469
Georgia GA54$2,686+26%$990 – $6,196
Ohio OH87$2,677+26%$1,674 – $5,203
Texas TX131$2,432+14%$1,335 – $3,079
New Mexico NM15$2,305+9%$656 – $4,115
Minnesota MN52$2,204+4%$751 – $2,771
South Carolina SC33$2,196+3%$1,330 – $2,355
Michigan MI55$2,077−2%$103 – $4,342
Virginia VA45$1,971−7%$1,326 – $3,506
Florida FL75$1,940−9%$1,096 – $4,899
Washington WA57$1,939−9%$351 – $3,266
Arizona AZ28$1,798−15%$1,134 – $7,595
Colorado CO35$1,758−17%$926 – $3,357
Kentucky KY26$1,640−23%$814 – $3,974
Alabama AL20$1,583−25%$796 – $2,379
Illinois IL72$1,554−27%$567 – $3,920
Alaska AK10$1,536−28%$698 – $5,809
Indiana IN50$1,431−33%$227 – $3,081
Arkansas AR21$1,426−33%$645 – $2,556
North Carolina NC50$1,419−33%$834 – $2,101
Wisconsin WI57$1,327−38%$1,085 – $3,635
Nevada NV14$1,291−39%$702 – $2,445
Massachusetts MA25$1,202−43%$473 – $2,549
Missouri MO35$1,157−46%$409 – $2,929
Kansas KS18$1,104−48%$245 – $2,429
Maine ME14$1,092−49%$160 – $2,730
Oklahoma OK40$1,030−51%$325 – $3,651
Louisiana LA40$973−54%$614 – $1,881
Iowa IA36$762−64%$391 – $2,283
Mississippi MS38$706−67%$352 – $1,639
Tennessee TN34$574−73%$330 – $1,639
Oregon OR37$529−75%$317 – $3,568
Nebraska NE26$514−76%$254 – $2,148
North Dakota ND9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not 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 $2,124.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,395$2,209$948 – $4,076
Children’s50$2,447$655 – $4,468
Critical access337$1,026$307 – $3,120
Ownership
For-profit170$2,336$990 – $5,288
Government273$1,583$436 – $3,612
Non-profit1,339$2,196$721 – $3,939
System affiliation
Part of a system1,493$2,196$764 – $3,977
Independent295$1,530$420 – $3,532

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,509
Median cash price$2,124
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

1,411 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,150 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,164; most fall between $814 and $4,032.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,411 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
$439$1,073$2,150$3,532$6,196

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($439 vs $6,196).

Of the 1,504 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,411 gave a usable cash price; 43 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 49 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,788 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (45%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,938 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,788
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here94
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 — excluded55
Hospitals that filed this code1,938

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 vascular catheterization, not heart family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Insj Non-Tunneled Central Venous Cath Age < 5 Y.

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, “Central line placement, child under 5, not tunneled (CPT 36555) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-36555-central-line-placement-child-under-5-not-tunneled