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Procedure price report · Other OR gastrointestinal therapeutic procedures

External bile duct drain placed through the skin

CPT 47533the billing code this page is about

A drainage catheter is placed through the skin into the bile ducts so bile drains out to a bag outside the body; includes the imaging guidance used to place it.

Hospitals typically charge $4,257 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,709 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $4,481. Most fall between $2,449 and $7,556 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,709
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 1,709 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
$1,601$2,827$4,257$6,424$10,134

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.3× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,601 vs $10,134).

How the prices are spread

$897 – $1,171: 22 hospitals$897$1,171 – $1,528: 52 hospitals$1,528 – $1,994: 70 hospitals$1,528$1,994 – $2,602: 154 hospitals$2,602 – $3,397: 196 hospitals$2,602$3,397 – $4,433: 318 hospitals$4,433 – $5,785: 284 hospitals$4,433$5,785 – $7,551: 186 hospitals$7,551 – $9,854: 153 hospitals$7,551$9,854 – $12,861: 107 hospitals$9,854median $4,257price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,542 of 1,709 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$897$1,17122
$1,171$1,52852
$1,528$1,99470
$1,994$2,602154
$2,602$3,397196
$3,397$4,433318
$4,433$5,785284
$5,785$7,551186
$7,551$9,854153
$9,854$12,861107

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,658
Median cash price$4,257
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.16×

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 $4,257.

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: 2 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 $3,840 across 42 hospitalsWA$3,840Idaho: median $5,452 across 13 hospitalsID$5,452Montana: median $1,944 across 13 hospitalsMT$1,944North Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $3,727 across 39 hospitalsMN$3,727Illinois: median $5,090 across 64 hospitalsIL$5,090Wisconsin: median $5,552 across 59 hospitalsWI$5,552Michigan: median $3,637 across 62 hospitalsMI$3,637New York: median $4,176 across 64 hospitalsNY$4,176Massachusetts: median $5,349 across 30 hospitalsMA$5,349Oregon: median $5,550 across 33 hospitalsOR$5,550Nevada: median $3,640 across 12 hospitalsNV$3,640Wyoming: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $4,785 across 19 hospitalsIA$4,785Indiana: median $4,098 across 43 hospitalsIN$4,098Ohio: median $5,544 across 99 hospitalsOH$5,544Pennsylvania: median $5,962 across 83 hospitalsPA$5,962New Jersey: median $4,627 across 53 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: median $5,093 across 14 hospitalsCT$5,093Rhode Island: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $5,827 across 149 hospitalsCA$5,827Utah: median $3,997 across 26 hospitalsUT$3,997Colorado: median $3,156 across 34 hospitalsCO$3,156Nebraska: median $2,347 across 16 hospitalsNE$2,347Missouri: median $3,672 across 43 hospitalsMO$3,672Kentucky: median $3,194 across 22 hospitalsKY$3,194West Virginia: median $422 across 14 hospitalsWV$422Virginia: median $3,585 across 38 hospitalsVA$3,585Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $2,880 across 33 hospitalsAZ$2,880New Mexico: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $3,898 across 13 hospitalsKS$3,898Arkansas: median $1,864 across 12 hospitalsAR$1,864Tennessee: median $1,253 across 36 hospitalsTN$1,253North Carolina: median $4,076 across 40 hospitalsNC$4,076South Carolina: median $3,331 across 34 hospitalsSC$3,331Oklahoma: median $2,668 across 29 hospitalsOK$2,668Louisiana: median $3,169 across 28 hospitalsLA$3,169Mississippi: median $2,453 across 26 hospitalsMS$2,453Alabama: median $4,737 across 20 hospitalsAL$4,737Georgia: median $4,407 across 62 hospitalsGA$4,407Hawaii: median $2,705 across 10 hospitalsHI$2,705Texas: median $4,222 across 136 hospitalsTX$4,222Florida: median $4,137 across 87 hospitalsFL$4,137
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $4,257. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Pennsylvania PA83$5,962+40%$4,071 – $10,134
California CA149$5,827+37%$3,538 – $10,734
Wisconsin WI59$5,552+30%$3,552 – $6,031
Oregon OR33$5,550+30%$2,984 – $9,296
Ohio OH99$5,544+30%$2,960 – $10,552
Idaho ID13$5,452+28%$2,500 – $8,630
Massachusetts MA30$5,349+26%$3,342 – $9,947
Connecticut CT14$5,093+20%$4,208 – $6,754
Illinois IL64$5,090+20%$2,323 – $8,298
Iowa IA19$4,785+12%$2,384 – $7,363
Alabama AL20$4,737+11%$3,672 – $5,601
New Jersey NJ53$4,627+9%$3,906 – $6,839
Georgia GA62$4,407+4%$2,569 – $8,203
Texas TX136$4,222−1%$3,407 – $7,603
New York NY64$4,176−2%$2,214 – $7,635
Florida FL87$4,137−3%$2,045 – $9,318
Indiana IN43$4,098−4%$3,444 – $6,020
North Carolina NC40$4,076−4%$2,524 – $4,650
Utah UT26$3,997−6%$3,997 – $4,702
Kansas KS13$3,898−8%$3,744 – $8,932
Washington WA42$3,840−10%$1,679 – $5,714
Minnesota MN39$3,727−12%$2,210 – $5,548
Missouri MO43$3,672−14%$2,148 – $6,424
Nevada NV12$3,640−14%$1,830 – $4,734
Michigan MI62$3,637−15%$1,618 – $6,127
Virginia VA38$3,585−16%$3,271 – $6,140
South Carolina SC34$3,331−22%$3,219 – $5,134
Kentucky KY22$3,194−25%$2,366 – $6,553
Louisiana LA28$3,169−26%$1,903 – $5,443
Colorado CO34$3,156−26%$2,350 – $7,442
Arizona AZ33$2,880−32%$1,412 – $15,907
Hawaii HI10$2,705−36%$1,291 – $5,085
Oklahoma OK29$2,668−37%$2,432 – $4,255
Mississippi MS26$2,453−42%$1,962 – $3,244
Nebraska NE16$2,347−45%$2,014 – $4,647
Montana MT13$1,944−54%$371 – $3,829
Arkansas AR12$1,864−56%$1,157 – $2,961
Tennessee TN36$1,253−71%$968 – $2,219
West Virginia WV14$422−90%$264 – $3,616
North Dakota ND8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not 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 $4,257.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,506$4,267$2,562 – $7,504
Children’s40$3,816$1,879 – $10,183
Critical access155$4,031$1,783 – $7,344
Ownership
For-profit169$4,582$2,569 – $9,889
Government207$4,032$1,908 – $5,968
Non-profit1,325$4,293$2,521 – $7,556
System affiliation
Part of a system1,490$4,302$2,569 – $7,623
Independent219$3,873$1,872 – $6,920

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$8,004
Median cash price$4,257
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

1,324 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $4,469 and the average of the middle 60% is $4,659; most fall between $2,569 and $8,032.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,324 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
$1,783$2,915$4,469$6,759$10,535

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.9× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,783 vs $10,535).

Of the 1,424 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,324 gave a usable cash price; 45 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 54 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,709 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (43%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,846 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,709
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here73
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 — excluded63
Hospitals that filed this code1,846

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 gastrointestinal therapeutic procedures family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Prq Plmt Biliary Drg Cath W/Img Gid Rs&I Externl.

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, “External bile duct drain placed through the skin (CPT 47533) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-47533-external-bile-duct-drain-placed-through-the-skin