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

Cutting open and draining the tear sac

CPT 68420the billing code this page is about

A small incision is made in the tear sac beside the nose to drain infection or fluid.

Hospitals typically charge $2,520 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 438 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,248. Most fall between $527 and $4,722 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
438
States
45
Filings dated
Jun 2024 – 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 438 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
$331$637$2,520$3,944$6,871

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 21× what the cheapest tenth charges ($331 vs $6,871).

How the prices are spread

$272 – $377: 45 hospitals$272$377 – $522: 22 hospitals$522 – $725: 31 hospitals$522$725 – $1,005: 30 hospitals$1,005 – $1,394: 13 hospitals$1,005$1,394 – $1,933: 36 hospitals$1,933 – $2,681: 42 hospitals$1,933$2,681 – $3,719: 78 hospitals$3,719 – $5,158: 48 hospitals$3,719$5,158 – $7,154: 53 hospitals$5,158median $2,520price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (398 of 438 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$272$37745
$377$52222
$522$72531
$725$1,00530
$1,005$1,39413
$1,394$1,93336
$1,933$2,68142
$2,681$3,71978
$3,719$5,15848
$5,158$7,15453

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$2,429
Median cash price$2,520
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.04×

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 $2,520.

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: 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: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $810 across 26 hospitalsIL$810Wisconsin: median $4,565 across 13 hospitalsWI$4,565Michigan: median $3,269 across 16 hospitalsMI$3,269New York: median $2,761 across 31 hospitalsNY$2,761Massachusetts: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 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: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $810 across 15 hospitalsIA$810Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $2,729 across 22 hospitalsOH$2,729Pennsylvania: median $3,180 across 24 hospitalsPA$3,180New Jersey: median $3,786 across 24 hospitalsNJ$3,786Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $3,876 across 49 hospitalsCA$3,876Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $1,117 across 14 hospitalsMO$1,117Kentucky: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $444 across 16 hospitalsWV$444Virginia: median $1,402 across 13 hospitalsVA$1,402Maryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: 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: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $272 across 12 hospitalsOK$272Louisiana: median $1,497 across 11 hospitalsLA$1,497Mississippi: 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 $2,553 across 16 hospitalsGA$2,553Hawaii: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,299 across 33 hospitalsTX$2,299Florida: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,520. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Wisconsin WI13$4,565+81%$2,520 – $4,565
California CA49$3,876+54%$1,674 – $6,871
New Jersey NJ24$3,786+50%$2,582 – $5,741
Michigan MI16$3,269+30%$652 – $7,154
Pennsylvania PA24$3,180+26%$1,632 – $5,641
New York NY31$2,761+10%$2,429 – $5,405
Ohio OH22$2,729+8%$1,445 – $2,729
Georgia GA16$2,553+1%$2,553 – $7,564
Texas TX33$2,299−9%$352 – $3,206
Louisiana LA11$1,497−41%$877 – $1,912
Virginia VA13$1,402−44%$320 – $1,402
Missouri MO14$1,117−56%$165 – $1,895
Iowa IA15$810−68%$810 – $810
Illinois IL26$810−68%$415 – $4,735
West Virginia WV16$444−82%$156 – $2,776
Oklahoma OK12$272−89%$272 – $272
South Dakota SD9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ2not 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
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV1not 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 $2,520.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care362$2,585$635 – $4,735
Children’s9fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access67$659$331 – $4,565
Ownership
For-profit32$2,553$342 – $4,111
Government61$1,895$405 – $2,761
Non-profit345$2,580$597 – $4,772
System affiliation
Part of a system369$2,585$592 – $4,735
Independent69$1,344$464 – $3,430

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,220
Median cash price$2,520
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

282 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,907 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,062; most fall between $464 and $4,576.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 282 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
$331$644$1,907$3,780$6,871

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 21× what the cheapest tenth charges ($331 vs $6,871).

Of the 297 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 282 gave a usable cash price; 9 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 6 a list price only.

How complete is this

438 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 480 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted438
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here33
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 — excluded8
Hospitals that filed this code480

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 Incision&Drainage Lacrimal Sac.

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, “Cutting open and draining the tear sac (CPT 68420) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-68420-cutting-open-and-draining-the-tear-sac