HRHospitalRates.comCompare prices

Procedure price report · Lens and cataract procedures

Cataract removal by ultrasound breakup and suction

CPT 66850the billing code this page is about

The lens is broken up with ultrasound or a mechanical device and suctioned out of the eye; this code covers lens removal without insertion of an artificial lens.

Hospitals typically charge $2,986 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 429 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,261. Most fall between $1,420 and $5,599 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
429
States
47
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 429 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
$1,075$1,752$2,986$4,881$8,206

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.6× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,075 vs $8,206).

How the prices are spread

$768 – $978: 12 hospitals$768$978 – $1,246: 28 hospitals$1,246 – $1,587: 35 hospitals$1,246$1,587 – $2,022: 38 hospitals$2,022 – $2,575: 37 hospitals$2,022$2,575 – $3,280: 65 hospitals$3,280 – $4,178: 32 hospitals$3,280$4,178 – $5,322: 67 hospitals$5,322 – $6,779: 37 hospitals$5,322$6,779 – $8,635: 36 hospitals$6,779median $2,986price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (387 of 429 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$768$97812
$978$1,24628
$1,246$1,58735
$1,587$2,02238
$2,022$2,57537
$2,575$3,28065
$3,280$4,17832
$4,178$5,32267
$5,322$6,77937
$6,779$8,63536

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$2,358
Median cash price$2,986
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.27×

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 $2,986.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 3 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 $4,492 across 18 hospitalsMN$4,492Illinois: median $1,752 across 15 hospitalsIL$1,752Wisconsin: median $4,733 across 31 hospitalsWI$4,733Michigan: median $3,173 across 14 hospitalsMI$3,173New York: median $2,739 across 40 hospitalsNY$2,739Massachusetts: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,965 across 15 hospitalsIA$1,965Indiana: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: median $1,730 across 19 hospitalsPA$1,730New Jersey: median $4,627 across 29 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $8,111 across 45 hospitalsCA$8,111Utah: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 9 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 $1,892 across 13 hospitalsWV$1,892Virginia: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $1,278 across 12 hospitalsOK$1,278Louisiana: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $3,012 across 23 hospitalsTX$3,012Florida: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,986. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA45$8,111+172%$4,295 – $8,210
Wisconsin WI31$4,733+59%$2,525 – $6,779
New Jersey NJ29$4,627+55%$2,527 – $5,368
Minnesota MN18$4,492+50%$2,863 – $5,264
Michigan MI14$3,173+6%$1,186 – $4,733
Texas TX23$3,012+1%$2,973 – $3,954
New York NY40$2,739−8%$2,230 – $4,595
Iowa IA15$1,965−34%$1,965 – $1,965
West Virginia WV13$1,892−37%$736 – $2,744
Illinois IL15$1,752−41%$1,075 – $6,657
Pennsylvania PA19$1,730−42%$476 – $4,032
Oklahoma OK12$1,278−57%$1,278 – $1,278
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not 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 $2,986.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care345$3,012$1,446 – $5,599
Children’s7fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access77$2,525$1,238 – $5,264
Ownership
For-profit41$3,200$1,075 – $5,690
Government58$2,580$1,274 – $5,789
Non-profit330$3,012$1,572 – $5,368
System affiliation
Part of a system349$3,012$1,599 – $5,599
Independent80$2,249$1,278 – $4,663

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,508
Median cash price$2,986
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

239 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,992 and the average of the middle 60% is $3,025; most fall between $1,278 and $5,397.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 239 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
$1,075$1,420$2,992$4,733$8,210

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.6× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,075 vs $8,210).

Of the 262 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 239 gave a usable cash price; 18 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 5 a list price only.

How complete is this

429 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 478 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted429
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here39
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded4
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded6
Hospitals that filed this code478

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 Lens and cataract procedures family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Rmvl Lens Material Phacofragmentation Aspir.

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, “Cataract removal by ultrasound breakup and suction (CPT 66850) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-66850-cataract-removal-by-ultrasound-breakup-and-suction