Surgery and procedures CPT 32555 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Thoracentesis cost in Greenboro, GA — inpatient

In Greenboro, GA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for thoracentesis with imaging guidance as an inpatient: from $1,558.70 to $1,558.70, with a median of $1,558.70. Across Georgia, the median is $1,410.41 at 71 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 32555, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2025 and Jan 1, 2025.

Lowest$1,558.70St Marys Good Samaritan Hospital

Median$1,558.70half of hospitals charge less

Highest$1,558.70in this market

Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
St Marys Good Samaritan Hospital Greenboro, GA · (706) 453-7331 HC THORACENTESIS PLEURAL SPACE NEEDLE/CATHETER ASPIRATION W/ IMA File of Jan 1, 2025 · source file	$1,558.70	$2,398.00	$463.53–$2,398.00	35%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Check the item The description in the hospital file looks like a supply or device (a catheter, a brace, an implant), not this procedure. The hospital may have filed it under the wrong code: ask before relying on this price.

Inpatient: lowest $1,558.70, median $1,558.70, highest $1,558.70.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $1,038.70 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.