Abscess drainage cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 8 hospitals list a cash price for incision and drainage of a simple or single skin abscess: from $178.20 to $1,086.73, with a median of $440.70. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center — $262.50 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $425.00 at 19 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 5 cities for code 10060, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center lowest Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Incision & Drainage Abscess Simple/Single | $178.20 | $396.00 | $142.56–$695.29 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center South Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Incision & Drainage Abscess Simple/Single | $240.33 | $534.06 | $117.83–$568.32 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Incision & Drainage Abscess Simple/Single | $241.82 | $537.38 | $117.83–$590.39 | 55% | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Incision and Drainage Skin Abcess Simple | $425.00 | $425.00 | $49.64–$425.00 | — | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Incision & Drainage Abscess Simple/Single | $456.40 | $652.00 | $117.83–$652.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Incision & Drainage Abscess Simple/Single | $474.60 | $678.00 | $201.78–$733.12 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Incision & Drainage Abscess Simple/Single | $494.20 | $706.00 | $92.70–$706.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Incision and Drainage Skin Abcess Simple | $600.00 | $600.00 | $29.70–$395.49 | — | — source file |
| Shriners Childrens - Boston Boston, MA · (617) 722-3000 SIMPLE OR SINGLE DRAINAGE OF SKIN ABSCESS | $1,086.73 | $1,086.73 | $41.42–$1,525.00 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $178.20, median $440.70, highest $1,086.73 — a 6.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $425.00. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 7 of 8 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
This procedure opens a single, uncomplicated skin abscess, boil or infected cyst with a small cut to drain the pus. It is used when an infection under the skin does not drain on its own.
What the price covers
The price covers the drainage procedure. The emergency room or clinic visit, a lab culture of the pus and any antibiotics are billed separately.