go back

Chest Tube Insertion For Drainage

North Carolina 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 October 2026.

How much does Chest Tube Insertion For Drainage cost?

$1,214

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,214 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $302 to the doctor who performs it, and $912 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$302$219 to $398
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$912$407 to $1,288

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $912 · 10th to 90th $257 to $2,239Professionalmedian $302 · 10th to 90th $166 to $479
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $912professional $302

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$7,244.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$323.59
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$147.91
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$269.15
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$1,737.80
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$239.88
Median
$331.13
Typical High
$524.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$416.87
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$1,584.89
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$223.87
Typical High
$416.87
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$1,445.44
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$281.84
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$288.40
Median
$501.19
Typical High
$2,754.23
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$158.49
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$407.38
3 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$114.82
Typical High
$138.04
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
50 · Both sides
Typical Low
$309.03
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$676.08
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$128.82
Typical High
$223.87

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 9.1 times more in Colorado than in West Virginia. 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· 32nd of 51

$1,214

$302 physician + $912 facility

CO $4,120WV $453

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.