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Catheter Drainage Of Fluid Around The Heart

Alabama rates for HCPCS 33018

Drainage of fluid that has collected in the sac surrounding the heart, using a needle passed through the chest wall and then a thin tube that is left in place so drainage can continue. Imaging is used to guide the tube to the right spot. Removing the fluid relieves the pressure it puts on the heart.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Catheter Drainage Of Fluid Around The Heart cost?

$513

Typical negotiated rate. In Alabama, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $513 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $513 from a physician practice, and about $1,660 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$513$316 to $513
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$1,660$1,288 to $2,399

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,660 · 10th to 90th $891 to $3,802Professionalmedian $513 · 10th to 90th $269 to $631
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,660professional $513

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
$954.99
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$4,365.16
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$512.86
Typical High
$630.96
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,318.26
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$2,089.30
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$275.42
Typical High
$323.59
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$478.63
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$660.69
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$5,248.07
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$213.80
Median
$309.03
Typical High
$467.74

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 19.1 times more in California than in Kentucky. 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.

Alabama· 31st of 51

$513

CA $6,026KY $316

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.