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Procedure price report · Other OR therapeutic procedures on nose, mouth and pharynx

Draining a deep throat abscess through the mouth

CPT 42720the billing code this page is about

Cutting into and draining a pus pocket behind or beside the throat, reached from inside the mouth.

Hospitals typically charge $2,123 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 654 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,461. Most fall between $770 and $5,088 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
654
States
45
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 654 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
$536$823$2,123$4,626$7,016

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($536 vs $7,016).

How the prices are spread

$397 – $543: 34 hospitals$397$543 – $743: 47 hospitals$743 – $1,017: 73 hospitals$743$1,017 – $1,392: 70 hospitals$1,392 – $1,905: 40 hospitals$1,392$1,905 – $2,607: 68 hospitals$2,607 – $3,568: 51 hospitals$2,607$3,568 – $4,883: 96 hospitals$4,883 – $6,682: 68 hospitals$4,883$6,682 – $9,145: 59 hospitals$6,682median $2,123price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (606 of 654 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$397$54334
$543$74347
$743$1,01773
$1,017$1,39270
$1,392$1,90540
$1,905$2,60768
$2,607$3,56851
$3,568$4,88396
$4,883$6,68268
$6,682$9,14559

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,387
Median cash price$2,123
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.63×

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 $2,123.

Alaska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,803 across 25 hospitalsWA$1,803Idaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,336 across 16 hospitalsMN$1,336Illinois: median $1,121 across 23 hospitalsIL$1,121Wisconsin: median $2,049 across 33 hospitalsWI$2,049Michigan: median $753 across 36 hospitalsMI$753New York: median $3,838 across 39 hospitalsNY$3,838Massachusetts: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $7,055 across 22 hospitalsOR$7,055Nevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $1,121 across 17 hospitalsIA$1,121Indiana: median $507 across 11 hospitalsIN$507Ohio: median $2,996 across 20 hospitalsOH$2,996Pennsylvania: median $2,813 across 39 hospitalsPA$2,813New Jersey: median $4,254 across 27 hospitalsNJ$4,254Connecticut: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $3,727 across 66 hospitalsCA$3,727Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $712 across 10 hospitalsMO$712Kentucky: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: median $2,721 across 37 hospitalsVA$2,721Maryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $1,326 across 18 hospitalsTN$1,326North Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $638 across 19 hospitalsOK$638Louisiana: median $1,350 across 12 hospitalsLA$1,350Mississippi: median $750 across 11 hospitalsMS$750Alabama: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,462 across 38 hospitalsTX$2,462Florida: median $5,571 across 12 hospitalsFL$5,571
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,123. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Oregon OR22$7,055+232%$819 – $14,888
Florida FL12$5,571+162%$1,641 – $5,571
New Jersey NJ27$4,254+100%$3,590 – $5,741
New York NY39$3,838+81%$1,121 – $7,016
California CA66$3,727+76%$2,402 – $9,145
Ohio OH20$2,996+41%$711 – $4,712
Pennsylvania PA39$2,813+33%$282 – $4,652
Virginia VA37$2,721+28%$1,326 – $3,953
Texas TX38$2,462+16%$2,309 – $4,902
Wisconsin WI33$2,049−3%$808 – $4,798
Washington WA25$1,803−15%$868 – $5,549
Louisiana LA12$1,350−36%$1,102 – $4,585
Minnesota MN16$1,336−37%$867 – $1,336
Tennessee TN18$1,326−38%$448 – $1,326
Iowa IA17$1,121−47%$1,095 – $1,121
Illinois IL23$1,121−47%$420 – $7,005
Michigan MI36$753−65%$753 – $4,559
Mississippi MS11$750−65%$504 – $1,585
Missouri MO10$712−66%$677 – $829
Oklahoma OK19$638−70%$638 – $3,118
Indiana IN11$507−76%$420 – $2,362
Georgia GA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT2not 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 $2,123.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care524$2,462$808 – $5,523
Children’s14fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access115$1,301$608 – $4,556
Ownership
For-profit38$1,957$507 – $5,088
Government98$1,550$739 – $4,254
Non-profit517$2,309$808 – $5,419
System affiliation
Part of a system550$2,351$808 – $5,357
Independent104$1,208$670 – $3,906

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,848
Median cash price$2,123
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

488 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,161 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,467; most fall between $808 and $5,523.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 488 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
$557$895$2,161$4,804$7,229

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($557 vs $7,229).

Of the 514 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 488 gave a usable cash price; 18 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 8 a list price only.

How complete is this

654 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (17%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 701 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted654
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 — excluded6
Hospitals that filed this code701

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 OR therapeutic procedures on nose, mouth and pharynx family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as I&D Absc Rtrphrngl/Parapharyngeal Intraoral.

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, “Draining a deep throat abscess through the mouth (CPT 42720) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-42720-draining-a-deep-throat-abscess-through-the-mouth