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Procedure price report · Other non-OR gastrointestinal therapeutic procedures

Image-guided needle drainage of abdominal cavity fluid

CPT 49406the billing code this page is about

Drainage of an abscess or other fluid collection in the abdominal cavity or the space behind it, using a catheter placed through the skin with imaging guidance.

Hospitals typically charge $2,542 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,242 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,619. Most fall between $1,346 and $4,460 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,242
States
50
Filings dated
Dec 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 2,242 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
$901$1,569$2,542$3,946$5,660

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.3× what the cheapest tenth charges ($901 vs $5,660).

How the prices are spread

$594 – $763: 52 hospitals$594$763 – $981: 105 hospitals$981 – $1,260: 141 hospitals$981$1,260 – $1,619: 195 hospitals$1,619 – $2,080: 293 hospitals$1,619$2,080 – $2,672: 272 hospitals$2,672 – $3,433: 372 hospitals$2,672$3,433 – $4,411: 225 hospitals$4,411 – $5,667: 251 hospitals$4,411$5,667 – $7,282: 116 hospitals$5,667median $2,542price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,022 of 2,242 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$594$76352
$763$981105
$981$1,260141
$1,260$1,619195
$1,619$2,080293
$2,080$2,672272
$2,672$3,433372
$3,433$4,411225
$4,411$5,667251
$5,667$7,282116

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,687
Median cash price$2,542
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.51×

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 $2,542.

Alaska: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: median $2,580 across 13 hospitalsME$2,580Vermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $1,203 across 12 hospitalsNH$1,203Washington: median $2,523 across 52 hospitalsWA$2,523Idaho: median $3,000 across 17 hospitalsID$3,000Montana: median $1,422 across 20 hospitalsMT$1,422North Dakota: median $2,425 across 12 hospitalsND$2,425Minnesota: median $1,734 across 66 hospitalsMN$1,734Illinois: median $2,385 across 98 hospitalsIL$2,385Wisconsin: median $2,408 across 91 hospitalsWI$2,408Michigan: median $2,271 across 77 hospitalsMI$2,271New York: median $2,342 across 81 hospitalsNY$2,342Massachusetts: median $2,894 across 38 hospitalsMA$2,894Oregon: median $2,693 across 42 hospitalsOR$2,693Nevada: median $1,776 across 14 hospitalsNV$1,776Wyoming: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $4,442 across 11 hospitalsSD$4,442Iowa: median $1,914 across 33 hospitalsIA$1,914Indiana: median $2,813 across 66 hospitalsIN$2,813Ohio: median $3,297 across 122 hospitalsOH$3,297Pennsylvania: median $2,905 across 100 hospitalsPA$2,905New Jersey: median $2,162 across 58 hospitalsNJ$2,162Connecticut: median $2,876 across 19 hospitalsCT$2,876Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $3,162 across 172 hospitalsCA$3,162Utah: median $2,680 across 27 hospitalsUT$2,680Colorado: median $3,766 across 45 hospitalsCO$3,766Nebraska: median $2,187 across 28 hospitalsNE$2,187Missouri: median $2,027 across 51 hospitalsMO$2,027Kentucky: median $2,495 across 30 hospitalsKY$2,495West Virginia: median $2,859 across 25 hospitalsWV$2,859Virginia: median $2,569 across 47 hospitalsVA$2,569Maryland: median $2,063 across 10 hospitalsMD$2,063Delaware: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,954 across 33 hospitalsAZ$1,954New Mexico: median $1,746 across 12 hospitalsNM$1,746Kansas: median $1,401 across 31 hospitalsKS$1,401Arkansas: median $1,820 across 21 hospitalsAR$1,820Tennessee: median $1,271 across 46 hospitalsTN$1,271North Carolina: median $1,887 across 64 hospitalsNC$1,887South Carolina: median $3,815 across 41 hospitalsSC$3,815Oklahoma: median $1,282 across 39 hospitalsOK$1,282Louisiana: median $2,460 across 37 hospitalsLA$2,460Mississippi: median $1,120 across 32 hospitalsMS$1,120Alabama: median $1,555 across 30 hospitalsAL$1,555Georgia: median $2,556 across 65 hospitalsGA$2,556Hawaii: median $1,749 across 12 hospitalsHI$1,749Texas: median $3,053 across 162 hospitalsTX$3,053Florida: median $2,878 across 103 hospitalsFL$2,878
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,542. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Dakota SD11$4,442+75%$4,442 – $5,985
South Carolina SC41$3,815+50%$2,480 – $3,974
Colorado CO45$3,766+48%$1,751 – $4,272
Ohio OH122$3,297+30%$2,602 – $4,844
California CA172$3,162+24%$1,625 – $5,613
Texas TX162$3,053+20%$1,650 – $5,045
Idaho ID17$3,000+18%$2,680 – $4,347
Pennsylvania PA100$2,905+14%$1,688 – $6,665
Massachusetts MA38$2,894+14%$1,558 – $4,259
Florida FL103$2,878+13%$1,737 – $6,055
Connecticut CT19$2,876+13%$2,312 – $6,925
West Virginia WV25$2,859+12%$569 – $4,108
Indiana IN66$2,813+11%$1,602 – $3,777
Oregon OR42$2,693+6%$693 – $4,437
Utah UT27$2,680+5%$2,323 – $3,153
Maine ME13$2,580+1%$1,106 – $5,288
Virginia VA47$2,569+1%$2,010 – $3,890
Georgia GA65$2,556+1%$1,648 – $4,099
Washington WA52$2,523−1%$1,280 – $3,760
Kentucky KY30$2,495−2%$489 – $4,981
Louisiana LA37$2,460−3%$1,250 – $3,902
North Dakota ND12$2,425−5%$595 – $2,953
Wisconsin WI91$2,408−5%$1,526 – $3,104
Illinois IL98$2,385−6%$1,076 – $4,330
New York NY81$2,342−8%$1,449 – $3,684
Michigan MI77$2,271−11%$1,301 – $5,468
Nebraska NE28$2,187−14%$1,632 – $3,326
New Jersey NJ58$2,162−15%$1,793 – $5,187
Maryland MD10$2,063−19%$274 – $3,794
Missouri MO51$2,027−20%$1,255 – $2,903
Arizona AZ33$1,954−23%$716 – $10,460
Iowa IA33$1,914−25%$966 – $3,201
North Carolina NC64$1,887−26%$1,098 – $3,074
Arkansas AR21$1,820−28%$1,035 – $2,291
Nevada NV14$1,776−30%$980 – $3,443
Hawaii HI12$1,749−31%$1,705 – $4,081
New Mexico NM12$1,746−31%$1,473 – $4,126
Minnesota MN66$1,734−32%$1,149 – $2,189
Alabama AL30$1,555−39%$1,029 – $3,275
Montana MT20$1,422−44%$260 – $2,695
Kansas KS31$1,401−45%$772 – $2,182
Oklahoma OK39$1,282−50%$864 – $2,622
Tennessee TN46$1,271−50%$798 – $1,597
New Hampshire NH12$1,203−53%$252 – $2,907
Mississippi MS32$1,120−56%$844 – $1,633
Alaska AK9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not 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 $2,542.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,874$2,653$1,466 – $4,639
Children’s48$3,107$1,576 – $5,997
Critical access311$1,761$913 – $3,349
Ownership
For-profit234$2,792$1,583 – $5,520
Government309$2,109$1,082 – $3,814
Non-profit1,690$2,586$1,367 – $4,459
System affiliation
Part of a system1,886$2,680$1,419 – $4,612
Independent356$2,034$950 – $3,711

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,495
Median cash price$2,542
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

1,691 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,803 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,792; most fall between $1,422 and $4,614.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,691 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
$975$1,625$2,803$4,118$5,743

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.9× what the cheapest tenth charges ($975 vs $5,743).

Of the 1,826 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,691 gave a usable cash price; 52 carried a plausibility flag, 1 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 82 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,242 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (57%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,418 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,242
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here79
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded7
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded89
Hospitals that filed this code2,418

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 non-OR gastrointestinal therapeutic procedures family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Img-Guide Fluid Collxn Drainag Cath Periton Perq.

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, “Image-guided needle drainage of abdominal cavity fluid (CPT 49406) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-49406-image-guided-needle-drainage-of-abdominal-cavity-fluid