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Procedure price report · Diagnostic spinal tap

Spinal tap to drain fluid, with imaging guidance

CPT 62329the billing code this page is about

A needle is placed in the lower back to drain spinal fluid as treatment, with X-ray or CT used to guide the needle.

Hospitals typically charge $1,216 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,757 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,270. Most fall between $689 and $2,136 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,757
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 1,757 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
$428$792$1,216$1,886$2,858

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($428 vs $2,858).

How the prices are spread

$294 – $381: 69 hospitals$294$381 – $495: 55 hospitals$495 – $642: 101 hospitals$495$642 – $832: 188 hospitals$832 – $1,080: 238 hospitals$832$1,080 – $1,401: 314 hospitals$1,401 – $1,817: 234 hospitals$1,401$1,817 – $2,357: 171 hospitals$2,357 – $3,057: 149 hospitals$2,357$3,057 – $3,966: 64 hospitals$3,057median $1,216price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,583 of 1,757 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$294$38169
$381$49555
$495$642101
$642$832188
$832$1,080238
$1,080$1,401314
$1,401$1,817234
$1,817$2,357171
$2,357$3,057149
$3,057$3,96664

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$721
Median cash price$1,216
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.69×

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 $1,216.

Alaska: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,203 across 48 hospitalsWA$1,203Idaho: median $1,700 across 13 hospitalsID$1,700Montana: median $504 across 14 hospitalsMT$504North Dakota: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $932 across 44 hospitalsMN$932Illinois: median $1,660 across 62 hospitalsIL$1,660Wisconsin: median $1,187 across 73 hospitalsWI$1,187Michigan: median $893 across 64 hospitalsMI$893New York: median $1,170 across 61 hospitalsNY$1,170Massachusetts: median $1,374 across 28 hospitalsMA$1,374Oregon: median $1,219 across 32 hospitalsOR$1,219Nevada: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: median $796 across 10 hospitalsWY$796South Dakota: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,161 across 29 hospitalsIA$1,161Indiana: median $803 across 56 hospitalsIN$803Ohio: median $2,113 across 84 hospitalsOH$2,113Pennsylvania: median $1,210 across 94 hospitalsPA$1,210New Jersey: median $1,210 across 47 hospitalsNJ$1,210Connecticut: median $1,179 across 16 hospitalsCT$1,179Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,802 across 142 hospitalsCA$1,802Utah: median $938 across 27 hospitalsUT$938Colorado: median $1,223 across 35 hospitalsCO$1,223Nebraska: median $874 across 25 hospitalsNE$874Missouri: median $1,356 across 29 hospitalsMO$1,356Kentucky: median $1,415 across 13 hospitalsKY$1,415West Virginia: median $1,074 across 13 hospitalsWV$1,074Virginia: median $1,587 across 41 hospitalsVA$1,587Maryland: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $681 across 35 hospitalsAZ$681New Mexico: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $808 across 33 hospitalsKS$808Arkansas: median $686 across 10 hospitalsAR$686Tennessee: median $498 across 41 hospitalsTN$498North Carolina: median $1,151 across 55 hospitalsNC$1,151South Carolina: median $1,103 across 35 hospitalsSC$1,103Oklahoma: median $586 across 19 hospitalsOK$586Louisiana: median $756 across 26 hospitalsLA$756Mississippi: median $559 across 27 hospitalsMS$559Alabama: median $936 across 19 hospitalsAL$936Georgia: median $1,885 across 57 hospitalsGA$1,885Hawaii: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $1,216 across 134 hospitalsTX$1,216Florida: median $1,580 across 84 hospitalsFL$1,580
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,216. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Ohio OH84$2,113+74%$1,376 – $3,106
Georgia GA57$1,885+55%$1,143 – $1,994
California CA142$1,802+48%$886 – $3,643
Idaho ID13$1,700+40%$1,063 – $1,886
Illinois IL62$1,660+36%$588 – $2,360
Virginia VA41$1,587+30%$697 – $1,938
Florida FL84$1,580+30%$967 – $2,375
Kentucky KY13$1,415+16%$385 – $2,781
Massachusetts MA28$1,374+13%$642 – $2,381
Missouri MO29$1,356+11%$703 – $1,743
Colorado CO35$1,223+1%$971 – $3,210
Oregon OR32$1,2190%$238 – $2,196
Texas TX134$1,2160%$810 – $2,777
New Jersey NJ47$1,2100%$767 – $4,350
Pennsylvania PA94$1,210−1%$834 – $1,919
Washington WA48$1,203−1%$806 – $1,959
Wisconsin WI73$1,187−2%$1,134 – $1,660
Connecticut CT16$1,179−3%$1,064 – $2,200
New York NY61$1,170−4%$721 – $1,912
Iowa IA29$1,161−5%$337 – $1,319
North Carolina NC55$1,151−5%$858 – $1,529
South Carolina SC35$1,103−9%$1,009 – $1,657
West Virginia WV13$1,074−12%$812 – $1,429
Utah UT27$938−23%$938 – $1,042
Alabama AL19$936−23%$570 – $1,924
Minnesota MN44$932−23%$624 – $1,654
Michigan MI64$893−27%$366 – $2,063
Nebraska NE25$874−28%$533 – $1,207
Kansas KS33$808−34%$630 – $1,520
Indiana IN56$803−34%$363 – $1,576
Wyoming WY10$796−35%$488 – $1,061
Louisiana LA26$756−38%$378 – $1,391
Arkansas AR10$686−44%$566 – $951
Arizona AZ35$681−44%$438 – $4,772
Oklahoma OK19$586−52%$586 – $1,556
Mississippi MS27$559−54%$254 – $1,290
Montana MT14$504−59%$155 – $1,073
Tennessee TN41$498−59%$310 – $796
Alaska AK9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT3not 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 $1,216.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,470$1,219$708 – $2,225
Children’s43$1,604$957 – $3,287
Critical access236$1,044$504 – $1,654
Ownership
For-profit170$1,287$750 – $2,777
Government234$1,002$522 – $1,657
Non-profit1,345$1,219$708 – $2,184
System affiliation
Part of a system1,527$1,219$705 – $2,194
Independent230$1,115$568 – $1,886

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,147
Median cash price$1,216
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

1,378 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,283 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,343; most fall between $734 and $2,200.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,378 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
$481$834$1,283$1,954$2,785

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 5.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($481 vs $2,785).

Of the 1,477 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,378 gave a usable cash price; 40 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 59 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,757 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (44%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,895 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,757
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here70
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded8
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded60
Hospitals that filed this code1,895

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 Diagnostic spinal tap family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Therapeutic Spinal Pnxr Drainage CSF W/Fluor/CT.

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, “Spinal tap to drain fluid, with imaging guidance (CPT 62329) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-62329-spinal-tap-to-drain-fluid-with-imaging-guidance