Thoracentesis cost in Utica, NY
In Utica-Rome, NY, 3 hospitals list a cash price for thoracentesis with imaging guidance: from $310.50 to $5,681.10, with a median of $357.00. The lowest listed price is at Little Falls Hospital — $46.50 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $1,228.00 at 89 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 32555, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Aug 11, 2026 and Aug 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 Utica-Rome, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Falls Hospital lowest Little Falls, NY · (315) 823-5261 CAH PR Thoracentesis Needle/Cath Pleura W/Imaging | $310.50 | $1,150.00 | $1,035.00–$977.50 | 73% | — source file |
| Mvhs Utica, NY Thoracentesis Needle/Cath Pleura W/Imaging | $357.00 | $595.00 | $11.81–$362.95 | 40% | — source file |
| Mvhs Utica, NY HC Aspirate Pleura W/ Imaging | $766.20 | $1,277.00 | $112.55–$4,217.00 | 40% | — source file |
| Mvhs Utica, NY HC Aspirate Pleura W/ Imaging | $2,705.40 | $4,509.00 | $91.04–$4,217.00 | 40% | — source file |
| Rome Memorial Hospital Rome, NY · (315) 338-7000 Aspirate pleura w/ imaging | $5,681.10 | $14,072.58 | $112.55–$772.67 | 60% | Aug 11, 2026 source file |
| Rome Memorial Hospital Rome, NY · (315) 338-7000 Aspirate pleura w/ imaging | $5,681.10 | $14,072.58 | $112.55–$772.67 | 60% | Aug 11, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $310.50, median $357.00, highest $5,681.10 — a 18.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $9,638.03. 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 2 of 3 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 32555 ($1,176.00). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Mvhs Utica, NYThoracentesis Needle/Cath Pleura W/Imaging | $81.00 | file |