CPT 42700 · 1,401 hospitals reporting

Drainage of tonsil abscess

The same procedure costs $60 at one hospital and $7,121 at another — a 119× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $403.

Cheapest published

$60

8 entries below $50 already filtered. Remaining low values usually reflect partial-cost line items (professional fee only), not full bills.

Median across 1,401 hospitals

$403

The realistic middle of the cash-price distribution. Use this as your benchmark.

Most expensive

$7,121

Highest published price. Often a gross-charge "list price" rarely actually paid.

Price distribution

500 hospitals · log-scale x-axis

Each bar = number of hospitals charging in that price range. Emerald bar contains the median. Amber dots = entries we flagged as likely partial-cost line items (excluded from the table below).

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Why some prices look unrealistically low or high

Hospitals publish their machine-readable files (MRFs) the way they choose. A single procedure code can appear with very different prices depending on what's being charged:

Global price — facility + implant + anesthesia + surgeon. This is what you'd actually be billed.
Professional fee only — surgeon's portion. Often $500–$2,500 for a major procedure that costs $20K+ globally.
Facility fee only — operating room and recovery, no implant or surgeon.
Per-unit / per-minute charges — e.g. anesthesia time billed at $0.68/min appearing under a CPT code.
Rate multipliers — values like 0.85 meaning "85% of Medicare" rather than dollars.

We filter the most obvious artifacts (under $50, or 25× above the median), but rows in the $500–$2K range for a major procedure are typically professional-only and we can't always tell. Use the median and high-end as the realistic range; treat very low rows as partial-cost line items, not full bills.

500 hospitals reporting

Hospital	State	Gross	Cash price	Min negotiated	Max negotiated	Your insurer
REYNOLDS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	WV	$805	$403	—	—	5 insurers
COFFEE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC	GA	$596	$405	—	—	0 insurers
UCHEALTH HIGHLANDS RANCH HOSPITAL	CO	$1,353	$406	—	—	5 insurers
HOLY FAMILY MEMORIAL	WI	—	$408	$122	$741	0 insurers
SANFORD MEDICAL CENTER BISMARCK	ND	$495	$396	—	—	3 insurers
PARK NICOLLET METHODIST HOSPITAL	MN	—	$411	$182	$825	1 insurers
TRI-CITY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$652	$391	—	—	0 insurers
TRI-CITY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$652	$391	—	—	5 insurers
STEWART MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	IA	$489	$391	—	—	5 insurers
DELTA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	AR	$520	$416	—	—	5 insurers
WAYNE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	GA	$556	$389	—	—	0 insurers
ANIMAS SURGICAL HOSPITAL, LLC	CO	$941	$416	$0	$880	5 insurers
SIDNEY HEALTH CENTER	MT	$673	$417	—	—	5 insurers
SIDNEY HEALTH CENTER	MT	$673	$417	—	—	4 insurers
SOUTHEAST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$967	$387	—	—	5 insurers
YALE-NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL	CT	$650	$384	—	—	5 insurers
BOZEMAN HEALTH DEACONESS HOSPITAL	MT	$479	$383	$184	$479	5 insurers
BOZEMAN HEALTH BIG SKY MEDICAL CENTER	MT	$479	$383	$184	$479	5 insurers
KALKASKA MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTER	MI	$449	$382	—	—	4 insurers
RANGE REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES	MN	$898	$382	—	—	3 insurers
GRAND ITASCA CLINIC AND HOSPITAL	MN	$898	$382	—	—	4 insurers
JOHN H STROGER JR HOSPITAL	IL	$605	$424	—	—	5 insurers
PROVIDENT HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO	IL	$605	$424	—	—	5 insurers
M HEALTH FAIRVIEW RIDGES HOSPITAL	MN	$897	$381	—	—	5 insurers
BROADLAWNS MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$381	$381	—	—	5 insurers
WHEELING HOSPITAL, INC	WV	$761	$381	—	—	5 insurers
CHOCTAW HEALTH CENTER	MS	$849	$425	—	—	1 insurers
CHOCTAW MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	OK	$849	$425	—	—	1 insurers
GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL	CA	$3,021	$426	—	—	5 insurers
FLUSHING HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	NY	$428	$428	—	—	5 insurers
ATRIUM HEALTH FLOYD MEDICAL CENTER	GA	$747	$374	—	—	2 insurers
UNITED REGIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM	TX	$455	$432	—	—	0 insurers
RUTHERFORD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$932	$373	—	—	2 insurers
MUNSON HEALTHCARE CADILLAC HOSPITAL	MI	$510	$434	—	—	3 insurers
BAYLOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL CENTER AT AUBREY	TX	$723	$434	—	—	5 insurers
JONES REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$463	$370	—	—	5 insurers
WALLOWA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	OR	$484	$436	$460	$474	0 insurers
ADENA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$878	$439	—	—	5 insurers
ADENA PIKE MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$878	$439	—	—	4 insurers
MARK TWAIN MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$548	$365	$297	$537	5 insurers