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Procedure price report · Tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy

Tonsil and adenoid removal, child under 12

CPT 42820the billing code this page is about

Surgical removal of both the tonsils and the adenoids in a patient younger than 12 years old.

Hospitals typically charge $2,619 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 870 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,243. Most fall between $614 and $7,926 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
870
States
49
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – 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 870 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
$427$715$2,619$7,027$12,168

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 28× what the cheapest tenth charges ($427 vs $12,168).

How the prices are spread

$305 – $453: 56 hospitals$305$453 – $674: 97 hospitals$674 – $1,003: 116 hospitals$674$1,003 – $1,493: 38 hospitals$1,493 – $2,221: 54 hospitals$1,493$2,221 – $3,305: 64 hospitals$3,305 – $4,917: 86 hospitals$3,305$4,917 – $7,317: 113 hospitals$7,317 – $10,887: 99 hospitals$7,317$10,887 – $16,199: 62 hospitals$10,887median $2,619price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (785 of 870 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$305$45356
$453$67497
$674$1,003116
$1,003$1,49338
$1,493$2,22154
$2,221$3,30564
$3,305$4,91786
$4,917$7,317113
$7,317$10,88799
$10,887$16,19962

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$6,048
Median cash price$2,619
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.43×

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 $2,619.

Alaska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 8 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 $1,066 across 16 hospitalsWA$1,066Idaho: median $7,950 across 13 hospitalsID$7,950Montana: median $759 across 10 hospitalsMT$759North Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $853 across 34 hospitalsMN$853Illinois: median $1,489 across 33 hospitalsIL$1,489Wisconsin: median $1,548 across 36 hospitalsWI$1,548Michigan: median $729 across 44 hospitalsMI$729New York: median $7,000 across 56 hospitalsNY$7,000Massachusetts: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $732 across 22 hospitalsOR$732Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $794 across 50 hospitalsIA$794Indiana: median $1,709 across 21 hospitalsIN$1,709Ohio: median $1,319 across 26 hospitalsOH$1,319Pennsylvania: median $3,908 across 25 hospitalsPA$3,908New Jersey: median $6,548 across 33 hospitalsNJ$6,548Connecticut: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $7,276 across 49 hospitalsCA$7,276Utah: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $5,916 across 16 hospitalsCO$5,916Nebraska: median $1,461 across 32 hospitalsNE$1,461Missouri: median $2,460 across 22 hospitalsMO$2,460Kentucky: median $559 across 12 hospitalsKY$559West Virginia: median $792 across 25 hospitalsWV$792Virginia: median $3,190 across 13 hospitalsVA$3,190Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $2,307 across 24 hospitalsKS$2,307Arkansas: median $2,155 across 12 hospitalsAR$2,155Tennessee: median $530 across 10 hospitalsTN$530North Carolina: median $5,060 across 13 hospitalsNC$5,060South Carolina: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $614 across 19 hospitalsOK$614Louisiana: median $4,633 across 20 hospitalsLA$4,633Mississippi: median $2,818 across 12 hospitalsMS$2,818Alabama: median $4,887 across 13 hospitalsAL$4,887Georgia: median $7,906 across 14 hospitalsGA$7,906Hawaii: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $4,784 across 42 hospitalsTX$4,784Florida: median $10,579 across 17 hospitalsFL$10,579
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,619. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL17$10,579+304%$4,173 – $61,055
Idaho ID13$7,950+204%$3,584 – $15,519
Georgia GA14$7,906+202%$1,316 – $7,906
California CA49$7,276+178%$1,365 – $10,634
New York NY56$7,000+167%$721 – $22,972
New Jersey NJ33$6,548+150%$5,110 – $7,760
Colorado CO16$5,916+126%$1,562 – $15,563
North Carolina NC13$5,060+93%$1,902 – $9,276
Alabama AL13$4,887+87%$824 – $8,303
Texas TX42$4,784+83%$3,290 – $9,422
Louisiana LA20$4,633+77%$1,564 – $6,732
Pennsylvania PA25$3,908+49%$190 – $10,001
Virginia VA13$3,190+22%$198 – $11,450
Mississippi MS12$2,818+8%$2,344 – $4,981
Missouri MO22$2,460−6%$439 – $5,909
Kansas KS24$2,307−12%$590 – $5,577
Arkansas AR12$2,155−18%$415 – $2,588
Indiana IN21$1,709−35%$420 – $7,592
Wisconsin WI36$1,548−41%$1,548 – $2,288
Illinois IL33$1,489−43%$511 – $12,898
Nebraska NE32$1,461−44%$595 – $6,485
Ohio OH26$1,319−50%$727 – $9,789
Washington WA16$1,066−59%$578 – $7,274
Minnesota MN34$853−67%$586 – $1,672
Iowa IA50$794−70%$680 – $3,718
West Virginia WV25$792−70%$305 – $3,819
Montana MT10$759−71%$540 – $4,589
Oregon OR22$732−72%$540 – $851
Michigan MI44$729−72%$495 – $8,140
Oklahoma OK19$614−77%$614 – $6,197
Kentucky KY12$559−79%$420 – $6,364
Tennessee TN10$530−80%$285 – $4,349
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not 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 $2,619.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care605$4,536$717 – $9,844
Children’s16fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access248$876$540 – $3,265
Ownership
For-profit101$5,921$1,548 – $10,128
Government178$1,316$600 – $6,330
Non-profit590$2,500$614 – $8,140
System affiliation
Part of a system674$3,320$656 – $9,011
Independent196$1,445$563 – $6,330

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,563
Median cash price$2,619
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. 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

395 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,106 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,940; most fall between $520 and $6,548.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 395 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
$371$576$1,106$4,763$10,634

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 29× what the cheapest tenth charges ($371 vs $10,634).

Of the 441 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 395 gave a usable cash price; 23 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 23 a list price only.

How complete is this

870 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (22%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 959 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted870
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here56
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded28
Hospitals that filed this code959

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 Tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy <Age 12.

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, “Tonsil and adenoid removal, child under 12 (CPT 42820) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-42820-tonsil-and-adenoid-removal-child-under-12