Sealing the Lining of the Lung Through a Chest Tube

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 32560

A medicine such as sterile talc is put into the space around the lung through a chest tube or drain that is already in place. It deliberately irritates the two layers of lining so that they stick together, closing off the space in which fluid or air keeps collecting. It is used when fluid around the lung, or a repeatedly collapsing lung, keeps coming back.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Sealing the Lining of the Lung Through a Chest Tube cost?

$3,193

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,193 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $309 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,884 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

10% physician fee90% 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 51 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	$309	$120 to $447
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center	The hospital or surgery center	$2,884	$1,000 to $5,129

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,884 · 10th to 90th $257 to $8,318Professionalmedian $309 · 10th to 90th $78 to $646

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 $257.04 Median $3,090.30 Typical High $9,120.11	Facility	Global	$257.04	$3,090.30	$9,120.11
BCBS Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $1,513.56 Median $3,715.35 Typical High $9,549.93	Facility	Global	$1,513.56	$3,715.35	$9,549.93
Cigna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $123.03 Median $741.31 Typical High $2,454.71	Facility	Global	$123.03	$741.31	$2,454.71
United Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $501.19 Median $1,778.28 Typical High $4,466.84	Facility	Global	$501.19	$1,778.28	$4,466.84

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 6.7 times more in Nebraska than in South Dakota. 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

Touch or drag across the chart to see any state's rate.

NE $4,902SD $727

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.