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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures on eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea

Removal of corneal surface layer with chemical treatment

CPT 65436the billing code this page is about

Removal of the outer cell layer of the cornea using a chelating agent, often to treat calcium deposits in the cornea.

Hospitals typically charge $2,435 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 419 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,232. Most fall between $730 and $4,274 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
419
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 419 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
$422$961$2,435$3,786$6,737

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($422 vs $6,737).

How the prices are spread

$339 – $459: 25 hospitals$339$459 – $620: 25 hospitals$620 – $839: 21 hospitals$620$839 – $1,134: 55 hospitals$1,134 – $1,534: 11 hospitals$1,134$1,534 – $2,074: 30 hospitals$2,074 – $2,805: 79 hospitals$2,074$2,805 – $3,793: 49 hospitals$3,793 – $5,130: 37 hospitals$3,793$5,130 – $6,937: 47 hospitals$5,130median $2,435price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (379 of 419 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$339$45925
$459$62025
$620$83921
$839$1,13455
$1,134$1,53411
$1,534$2,07430
$2,074$2,80579
$2,805$3,79349
$3,793$5,13037
$5,130$6,93747

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$2,429
Median cash price$2,435
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.00×

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 $2,435.

Alaska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $4,274 across 13 hospitalsWA$4,274Idaho: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 2 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 $1,129 across 18 hospitalsMN$1,129Illinois: median $961 across 18 hospitalsIL$961Wisconsin: median $1,077 across 34 hospitalsWI$1,077Michigan: median $3,269 across 17 hospitalsMI$3,269New York: median $2,761 across 28 hospitalsNY$2,761Massachusetts: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $3,965 across 14 hospitalsOR$3,965Nevada: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $961 across 15 hospitalsIA$961Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: median $1,638 across 25 hospitalsPA$1,638New Jersey: median $3,076 across 24 hospitalsNJ$3,076Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $5,342 across 46 hospitalsCA$5,342Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $557 across 14 hospitalsWV$557Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $600 across 12 hospitalsOK$600Louisiana: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $2,818 across 15 hospitalsGA$2,818Hawaii: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,571 across 24 hospitalsTX$2,571Florida: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,435. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA46$5,342+119%$1,928 – $6,737
Washington WA13$4,274+76%$2,568 – $5,254
Oregon OR14$3,965+63%$705 – $4,440
Michigan MI17$3,269+34%$2,435 – $7,284
New Jersey NJ24$3,076+26%$2,582 – $5,419
Georgia GA15$2,818+16%$2,818 – $5,364
New York NY28$2,761+13%$1,632 – $4,010
Texas TX24$2,571+6%$1,902 – $2,819
Pennsylvania PA25$1,638−33%$207 – $4,396
Minnesota MN18$1,129−54%$1,129 – $2,446
Wisconsin WI34$1,077−56%$1,062 – $2,435
Iowa IA15$961−61%$961 – $961
Illinois IL18$961−61%$383 – $6,999
Oklahoma OK12$600−75%$600 – $600
West Virginia WV14$557−77%$348 – $2,776
Idaho ID8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT1not 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 $2,435.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care347$2,550$900 – $4,632
Children’s7fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access65$1,129$550 – $2,818
Ownership
For-profit31$2,571$422 – $3,564
Government53$2,409$751 – $3,490
Non-profit335$2,435$780 – $4,440
System affiliation
Part of a system364$2,435$751 – $4,396
Independent55$2,177$629 – $3,844

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,000
Median cash price$2,435
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

289 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,435 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,245; most fall between $705 and $4,632.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 289 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
$383$961$2,435$3,965$6,737

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($383 vs $6,737).

Of the 301 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 289 gave a usable cash price; 8 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 4 a list price only.

How complete is this

419 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (11%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 451 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted419
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here26
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 — excluded5
Hospitals that filed this code451

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 therapeutic procedures on eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Rmvl Corneal Epithelium W/Appl Chelating Agent.

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, “Removal of corneal surface layer with chemical treatment (CPT 65436) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-65436-removal-of-corneal-surface-layer-with-chemical-treatment