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Image-Guided Chest Drainage Catheter Placement

California rates for HCPCS 32557

A catheter is inserted through the chest wall into the space around the lung to drain a fluid buildup (pleural effusion), guided by ultrasound or other imaging to place it accurately. The catheter can stay in place to allow drainage over time, rather than being removed right after a single needle draw.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Image-Guided Chest Drainage Catheter Placement cost?

$5,042

Typical total for the visit. In California, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $5,042 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $575 to the doctor who performs it, and $4,467 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 13 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$575$162 to $1,047
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$4,467$2,951 to $6,457

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,467 · 10th to 90th $1,514 to $13,490Professionalmedian $575 · 10th to 90th $135 to $2,951
$100$500$2K$10Kfacility $4,467professional $575

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
$1,202.26
Median
$5,754.40
Typical High
$16,982.44
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$69.18
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$2,290.87
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$588.84
Typical High
$3,715.35
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$338.84
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$4,466.84
Typical High
$12,882.50
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$851.14
Typical High
$2,290.87
Blue Shield
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$74.13
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$6,456.54
Blue Shield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$245.47
Typical High
$2,238.72
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$794.33
Median
$794.33
Typical High
$954.99
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$524.81
Typical High
$1,548.82
Contra Costa Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$1,047.13
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$1,230.27
Lucent Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$54.95
Median
$56.23
Typical High
$3,630.78
Lucent Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$2,951.21
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$2,951.21
Lucent Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4,570.88
Median
$5,370.32
Typical High
$5,370.32
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$537.03
Median
$537.03
Typical High
$891.25
Providence
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$645.65
Typical High
$1,348.96
Providence
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$457.09
Typical High
$1,513.56
Sutter Health Plus
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$501.19
Median
$501.19
Typical High
$2,089.30
The Alliance
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$165.96
Typical High
$724.44
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,412.54
Median
$3,019.95
Typical High
$7,943.28
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$512.86
Typical High
$1,548.82

Where California sits

The same service costs 9.5 times more in Indiana 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

California· 5th of 50

$5,042

$575 physician + $4,467 facility

IN $7,616WV $799

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.