Chest Tube Insertion For Drainage

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 32551

Places a tube through the chest wall into the space around the lung to drain air, blood, pus or other fluid. The tube is put in through a small open incision and connected to a collection and suction system that keeps the space empty while it heals. It is used for a collapsed lung or a build-up of fluid pressing on the lung.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Chest Tube Insertion For Drainage cost?

$3,249

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,249 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $229 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,020 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

7% physician fee93% facility fee

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 55 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the bill	Who charges it	Typical	Range
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it	The doctor who performs it	$229	$170 to $339
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center	The hospital or surgery center	$3,020	$1,413 to $5,370

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,020 · 10th to 90th $302 to $8,710Professionalmedian $229 · 10th to 90th $141 to $525

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	Facility/Professional	Modifier	Typical Low	Median	Typical High
Aetna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $269.15 Median $2,951.21 Typical High $8,709.64	Facility	Global	$269.15	$2,951.21	$8,709.64
Aetna Setting Facility Modifier 50 · Both sides Typical Low $831.76 Median $3,019.95 Typical High $6,025.60	Facility	50 · Both sides	$831.76	$3,019.95	$6,025.60
BCBS Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $1,621.81 Median $4,265.80 Typical High $10,000.00	Facility	Global	$1,621.81	$4,265.80	$10,000.00
Cigna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $257.04 Median $457.09 Typical High $1,445.44	Facility	Global	$257.04	$457.09	$1,445.44
United Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $660.69 Median $1,949.84 Typical High $4,786.30	Facility	Global	$660.69	$1,949.84	$4,786.30

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 10.3 times more in Colorado than in Maryland. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Pick one to see its carriers and full range.

Physician feeFacility fee

CO $5,328MD $517

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.