Thoracentesis cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 14 hospitals list a cash price for thoracentesis with imaging guidance: from $373.41 to $3,359.50, with a median of $2,556.53. The lowest listed price is at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital — $2,183.12 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $1,571.00 at 37 hospitals.
Cash prices at 14 facilities across 11 cities for code 32555, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 1, 2025 and May 11, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 Aspirate Pleura W Imaging | $373.41 | $1,383.00 | $402.45–$477.14 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W IMAGING | $373.41 | $1,383.00 | $121.43–$2,788.00 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 Aspirate Pleura W Imaging | $373.41 | $1,383.00 | $402.45–$477.14 | 73% | — source file |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB THORACENTESIS,ASPIRATE W IMG | $970.00 | $1,940.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Belmont, NC HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $630.63–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $576.75–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $576.75–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $511.31–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $511.31–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $511.31–$4,959.66 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $511.31–$4,959.66 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $75.38–$4,601.75 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Charlotte, NC HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $630.63–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Charlotte, NC HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $630.63–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Belmont, NC HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $630.63–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,601.75 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $75.38–$4,601.75 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $75.38–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,704.01 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $956.14–$5,113.05 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $971.48–$5,113.05 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $630.63–$4,601.75 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC ER THORACENTESIS W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC THORACENTESIS NEEDLE/CATH PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,556.53 | $5,113.05 | $599.79–$4,857.40 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC HCHG ER THORACENTESIS PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,936.00 | $2,936.00 | $441.87–$2,789.20 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC HCHG ER THORACENTESIS PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,936.00 | $2,936.00 | $441.87–$2,789.20 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ER THORACENTESIS PLEURA W/IMAGING | $2,936.00 | $2,936.00 | $441.87–$2,789.20 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB THORACENTESIS,ASPIRATE W IMG | $3,359.50 | $6,719.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC HCHG THORACENT PLRL ASP W IMAGING | $4,013.00 | $4,013.00 | $603.96–$4,278.00 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG THORACENT PLRL ASP W IMAGING | $4,013.00 | $4,013.00 | $603.96–$4,278.00 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC HCHG THORACENT PLRL ASP W IMAGING | $4,013.00 | $4,013.00 | $603.96–$4,278.00 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $373.41, median $2,556.53, highest $3,359.50 — a 9.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $2,556.53. 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 9 of 12 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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
Thoracentesis removes fluid from around the lungs with a needle, using ultrasound to guide it.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the procedure and guidance. Lab tests on the fluid are billed separately.