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Removal Of A Walled-Off Chest Infection

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 32540

Surgery that lifts out a pocket of infected fluid and pus sealed inside a thick rind of scar tissue in the space around the lung, taking the collection out whole together with its shell. Clearing it lets the lung expand again and stops the infection persisting. It is done under general anesthesia through a chest incision and needs a hospital stay.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Removal Of A Walled-Off Chest Infection cost?

$4,982

Typical total for the visit. In North Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,982 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,291 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,692 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$2,291$1,778 to $3,311
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,692$1,698 to $6,310

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,692 · 10th to 90th $1,660 to $7,586Professionalmedian $2,291 · 10th to 90th $1,698 to $4,571
$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,692professional $2,291

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,659.59
Median
$4,168.69
Typical High
$8,709.64
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$4,168.69
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$2,754.23
Typical High
$4,570.88
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,412.54
Median
$2,570.40
Typical High
$4,365.16
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$3,235.94
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,258.93
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$4,570.88
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,288.25
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$7,079.46
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,479.11
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$3,890.45
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$10,471.29
Typical High
$10,471.29
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$12,022.64
Median
$12,022.64
Typical High
$14,791.08

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 13.6 times more in Indiana than in Maryland. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

Physician feeFacility fee

North Carolina· 39th of 49

$4,982

$2,291 physician + $2,692 facility

IN $35,506MD $2,611

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.