CPT 69421 · 1,026 hospitals reporting

Incision of eardrum

The same procedure costs $141 at one hospital and $39,040 at another — a 276× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $2,600.

Cheapest published

$141

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

Median across 1,026 hospitals

$2,600

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

Most expensive

$39,040

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

Price distribution

209 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
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CENTER	MS	$6,500	$2,600	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER- GRENADA	MS	$6,500	$2,600	—	—	5 insurers
UNITED REGIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM	TX	$2,767	$2,629	—	—	0 insurers
WHEELING HOSPITAL, INC	WV	$5,094	$2,547	—	—	5 insurers
RICHMOND UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	NY	$1,159	$2,653	$162	$3,372	5 insurers
OTTUMWA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER	IA	$6,096	$2,438	—	—	3 insurers
FRYE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	NC	$5,939	$2,376	—	—	2 insurers
HIGHPOINT HEALTH-TROUSDALE WITH ASCENSION SAINT	TN	$12,213	$2,846	—	—	5 insurers
HIGHPOINT HEALTH-RIVERVIEW WITH ASCENSION SAINT TH	TN	$12,213	$2,846	—	—	5 insurers
BAXTER HEALTH	AR	$4,766	$2,860	—	—	3 insurers
SUSAN B ALLEN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	KS	$3,587	$2,332	—	—	2 insurers
COPPER QUEEN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	AZ	$4,117	$2,882	—	—	5 insurers
THE QUEENS MEDICAL CENTER	HI	$4,117	$2,882	—	—	5 insurers
PEACEHEALTH SOUTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER	WA	$3,356	$2,181	—	—	5 insurers
UCH-MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM	CO	$6,063	$2,122	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH BROOMFIELD HOSPITAL	CO	$6,063	$2,122	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH GRANDVIEW HOSPITAL	CO	$6,063	$2,122	—	—	5 insurers
SUNY/STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	NY	$2,095	$2,095	—	—	2 insurers
BEEBE MEDICAL CENTER	DE	$3,759	$3,195	—	—	1 insurers
BETSY JOHNSON REGIONAL HOSPITAL	NC	$3,218	$1,931	—	—	5 insurers
VIRGINIA MASON MEDICAL CENTER	WA	$6,483	$3,306	—	—	4 insurers
MOSAIC LIFE CARE AT ST JOSEPH	MO	$2,200	$1,870	—	—	5 insurers
TRIGG COUNTY HOSPITAL	KY	$8,351	$3,340	—	—	5 insurers
DALLAS COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER	AR	$2,800	$1,820	—	—	5 insurers
UCHEALTH HIGHLANDS RANCH HOSPITAL	CO	$6,063	$1,819	—	—	5 insurers
CAMPBELL COUNTY HEALTH	WY	$3,414	$3,414	—	—	0 insurers
O U MEDICAL CENTER	OK	$34,196	$3,420	$2,574	$28,041	5 insurers
SOUTH CENTRAL REG MED CTR	MS	$4,233	$1,778	—	—	3 insurers
SOUTH CENTRAL HEALTH	ND	$4,233	$1,778	—	—	3 insurers
BUENA VISTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$1,772	$1,772	$789	$4,432	0 insurers
COOKEVILLE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	TN	$5,762	$3,532	—	—	2 insurers
ST JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER	WA	$7,794	$3,535	$147	$7,794	5 insurers
HILTON HEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	SC	—	$3,670	$822	$6,907	5 insurers
EAST COOPER MEDICAL CENTER	SC	—	$3,670	$822	$11,043	5 insurers
COASTAL CAROLINA HOSPITAL	SC	—	$3,670	$822	$5,890	5 insurers
BELL HOSPITAL	MI	$2,541	$1,525	—	—	0 insurers
SURGEONS CHOICE MEDICAL CENTER	MI	$6,850	$3,681	—	—	5 insurers
ST LUKE'S WARREN HOSPITAL	NJ	$1,809	$1,502	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL - UPPER BUCKS CAMPUS	PA	$1,809	$1,502	—	—	3 insurers
ST LUKES HOSPITAL BETHLEHEM	PA	$1,809	$1,502	—	—	3 insurers