Thoracentesis cost in Wheeling, WV
In Wheeling, WV-OH, 2 hospitals list a cash price for thoracentesis with imaging guidance: from $1,783.00 to $4,499.00, with a median of $3,141.00. The lowest listed price is at Wheeling Hospital — $1,358.00 less than the median here. Across West Virginia, the median is $1,626.31 at 18 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 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 Jul 9, 2026 and Jul 9, 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 Wheeling, WV-OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling Hospital lowest Wheeling, WV · (304) 243-3000 ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING | $1,783.00 | $3,566.00 | $25.00–$2,558.04 | 50% | Jul 9, 2026 source file |
| Reynolds Memorial Hospital Glen Dale, WV · (304) 843-3230 ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING | $4,499.00 | $8,998.00 | $93.14–$1,047.88 | 50% | — source file |
| Reynolds Memorial Hospital Glen Dale, WV · (304) 843-3230 ASPIRATION OF FLUID FROM CHEST CAVITY USING IMAGING GUIDANCE | $4,658.00 | $9,316.00 | $25.00–$1,047.88 | 50% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,783.00, median $3,141.00, highest $4,499.00 — a 2.5× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 1 of 2 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
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 ($1,171.30). 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.
| Barnesville Hospital Association Barnesville, OHASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING | $116.00 | file |