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

Probing the small tear channels in the eyelids

CPT 68840the billing code this page is about

Passing a thin probe through the tiny tear-collecting channels in the eyelids, with or without flushing them.

Hospitals typically charge $366 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 589 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $428. Most fall between $241 and $803 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
589
States
48
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 589 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
$153$253$366$689$1,018

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($153 vs $1,018).

How the prices are spread

$114 – $154: 33 hospitals$114$154 – $209: 46 hospitals$209 – $283: 66 hospitals$209$283 – $382: 137 hospitals$382 – $518: 70 hospitals$382$518 – $700: 67 hospitals$700 – $948: 77 hospitals$700$948 – $1,283: 27 hospitals$1,283 – $1,736: 7 hospitals$1,283$1,736 – $2,350: 3 hospitals$1,736median $366price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (533 of 589 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$114$15433
$154$20946
$209$28366
$283$382137
$382$51870
$518$70067
$700$94877
$948$1,28327
$1,283$1,7367
$1,736$2,3503

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$324
Median cash price$366
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.13×

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 $366.

Alaska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $556 across 14 hospitalsWA$556Idaho: 8 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 $321 across 21 hospitalsMN$321Illinois: median $333 across 33 hospitalsIL$333Wisconsin: median $517 across 45 hospitalsWI$517Michigan: median $796 across 20 hospitalsMI$796New York: median $354 across 37 hospitalsNY$354Massachusetts: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $273 across 19 hospitalsOR$273Nevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $323 across 16 hospitalsIA$323Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $299 across 10 hospitalsOH$299Pennsylvania: median $351 across 32 hospitalsPA$351New Jersey: median $445 across 26 hospitalsNJ$445Connecticut: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $829 across 69 hospitalsCA$829Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $316 across 12 hospitalsMO$316Kentucky: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $302 across 19 hospitalsWV$302Virginia: median $689 across 11 hospitalsVA$689Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 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: 5 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: 3 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 $190 across 12 hospitalsOK$190Louisiana: median $204 across 22 hospitalsLA$204Mississippi: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $362 across 15 hospitalsGA$362Hawaii: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $362 across 29 hospitalsTX$362Florida: median $1,117 across 10 hospitalsFL$1,117
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $366. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL10$1,117+205%$291 – $5,672
California CA69$829+126%$369 – $879
Michigan MI20$796+118%$187 – $1,018
Virginia VA11$689+88%$114 – $689
Washington WA14$556+52%$370 – $693
Wisconsin WI45$517+41%$350 – $796
New Jersey NJ26$445+21%$331 – $5,339
Texas TX29$362−1%$259 – $548
Georgia GA15$362−1%$245 – $362
New York NY37$354−3%$324 – $727
Pennsylvania PA32$351−4%$42 – $432
Illinois IL33$333−9%$191 – $873
Iowa IA16$323−12%$323 – $323
Minnesota MN21$321−12%$251 – $519
Missouri MO12$316−14%$163 – $845
West Virginia WV19$302−17%$113 – $501
Ohio OH10$299−18%$147 – $864
Oregon OR19$273−25%$241 – $497
Louisiana LA22$204−44%$162 – $394
Oklahoma OK12$190−48%$190 – $190
Idaho ID8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not 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 $366.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care471$369$241 – $829
Children’s13fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access105$370$251 – $619
Ownership
For-profit41$362$190 – $656
Government78$354$237 – $695
Non-profit470$375$241 – $828
System affiliation
Part of a system503$369$245 – $796
Independent86$336$199 – $845

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$596
Median cash price$366
Cash as a share of list, median hospital64%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 37%. 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

394 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $369 and the average of the middle 60% is $441; most fall between $229 and $810.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 394 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
$134$251$369$695$879

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.6× what the cheapest tenth charges ($134 vs $879).

Of the 421 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 394 gave a usable cash price; 19 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 8 a list price only.

How complete is this

589 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (15%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 640 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted589
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here41
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded2
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded8
Hospitals that filed this code640

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 Hp Probe Lacrimal Canaliculi W/WO Irrigation.

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, “Probing the small tear channels in the eyelids (CPT 68840) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-68840-probing-the-small-tear-channels-in-the-eyelids