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Placement Of A Heart Vent During Life Support

Washington rates for HCPCS 33988

Places a small drainage tube into the left side of the heart through an incision in the chest, in a patient being supported by an external heart-lung machine. The tube lets blood drain out of the left side of the heart so that chamber does not become overfilled and stretched while the machine is doing the work of circulating blood. It is done in an operating room or intensive care setting as part of the support system, not as a repair of the heart itself.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Placement Of A Heart Vent During Life Support cost?

$1,096

Typical negotiated rate. In Washington, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,096 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $1,096 from a physician practice, and about $912 from a hospital or other facility.

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 10 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$1,096$871 to $1,445
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$912$692 to $1,380

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $912 · 10th to 90th $575 to $2,138Professionalmedian $1,096 · 10th to 90th $195 to $1,778
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $912professional $1,096

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
$954.99
Median
$7,943.28
Typical High
$27,542.29
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$1,000.00
Asuris Northwest Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$537.03
Median
$537.03
Typical High
$4,677.35
Asuris Northwest Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,047.13
Median
$5,370.32
Typical High
$6,165.95
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$776.25
Typical High
$2,137.96
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$933.25
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$2,187.76
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$933.25
Median
$1,548.82
Typical High
$1,995.26
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$177.83
Median
$1,096.48
Typical High
$1,659.59
Pacific Source
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,230.27
Median
$1,445.44
Typical High
$1,513.56
Premera BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,023.29
Premera BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,023.29
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,047.13
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$2,137.96
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$1,584.89
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$1,318.26
Typical High
$2,344.23
Wellpoint
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$933.25
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$1,412.54
5 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
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$478.63
Median
$478.63
Typical High
$501.19
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$199.53
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$724.44
Median
$724.44
Typical High
$741.31
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$151.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$95.50
Typical High
$100.00

Where Washington sits

The same service costs 3.8 times more in Wisconsin than in New York. 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.

Washington· 28th of 51

$1,096

WI $3,090NY $813

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.