CPT 69436 · 1,160 hospitals reporting

Create eardrum opening

The same procedure costs $155 at one hospital and $37,948 at another — a 245× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $1,970.

Cheapest published

$155

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

Median across 1,160 hospitals

$1,970

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

Most expensive

$37,948

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

Price distribution

314 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).

Filter by state

Filter by your insurance

Sort

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
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - PANORAMA CITY	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - LOS ANGELES	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - DOWNEY	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL FONTANA/ONTARIO	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SAN DIEGO	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - WEST LA	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - WOODLAND HILLS	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL, RIVERSIDE	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - BALDWIN PARK	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL-MORENO VALLEY	CA	$5,628	$1,970	$1,362	$3,681	3 insurers
BAPTIST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER-LITTLE ROCK	AR	$7,857	$1,964	—	—	4 insurers
SAN DIMAS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	CA	$9,793	$1,985	$173	$9,793	5 insurers
SHASTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$22,406	$1,985	$173	$22,406	5 insurers
BAPTIST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER- CONWAY	AR	$7,945	$1,986	—	—	4 insurers
GREENWICH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION -	CT	$3,748	$1,949	—	—	5 insurers
UNITED MEDICAL CENTER	DC	$3,987	$1,994	—	—	5 insurers
CAMDEN CLARK MEDICAL CENTER	WV	$3,987	$1,994	—	—	5 insurers
SALINE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	AR	$6,651	$1,995	—	—	5 insurers
MONTEFIORE ST LUKE'S CORNWALL	NY	—	$1,937	—	—	5 insurers
BAYLOR MEDICAL CENTER AT TROPHY CLUB	TX	$3,363	$2,018	$1,659	$8,427	5 insurers
BRIDGEPORT HOSPITAL	CT	$3,748	$1,912	—	—	5 insurers
BAPTIST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER NORTH LITTLE ROCK	AR	$8,124	$2,031	—	—	4 insurers
COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$2,385	$1,908	—	—	0 insurers
MINERAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	MT	$2,541	$2,032	—	—	1 insurers
BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE SURGICAL HOSPITAL FORTWORTH	TX	$3,118	$1,871	$1,659	$8,427	5 insurers
HIGHPOINT HEALTH-TROUSDALE WITH ASCENSION SAINT	TN	$8,911	$2,076	—	—	5 insurers
HIGHPOINT HEALTH-RIVERVIEW WITH ASCENSION SAINT TH	TN	$8,911	$2,076	—	—	5 insurers
UNM HOSPITAL	NM	$3,380	$1,859	—	—	5 insurers
SUNY/STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	NY	$1,838	$1,838	—	—	5 insurers
WETZEL COUNTY HOSPITAL	WV	$3,644	$1,822	—	—	5 insurers
SOUTH CENTRAL REG MED CTR	MS	$4,336	$1,821	—	—	4 insurers
SOUTH CENTRAL HEALTH	ND	$4,336	$1,821	—	—	4 insurers
PARIS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	IL	$6,097	$2,134	—	—	1 insurers
PARIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	TX	$6,097	$2,134	—	—	1 insurers
THOMAS HOSPITAL	AL	$3,577	$1,789	—	—	5 insurers
PRINCETON BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$3,567	$1,784	—	—	5 insurers
UNIONTOWN HOSPITAL	PA	$3,567	$1,784	—	—	5 insurers
NEVADA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	MO	$2,160	$2,160	$648	$3,667	0 insurers
ELMORE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	AL	$4,444	$1,778	—	—	5 insurers
HILTON HEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	SC	—	$1,772	$822	$5,827	5 insurers