Surgery and procedures CPT 32555 Outpatient

Thoracentesis cost in Shelby, MT

In Shelby, MT, 1 hospital lists a cash price for thoracentesis with imaging guidance: from $499.85 to $499.85, with a median of $499.85. Across Montana, the median is $499.85 at 15 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 32555, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.

Lowest$499.85Logan Health - Shelby
Median$499.85half pay less
Highest$499.85in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Shelby, MT.

median
Lowest $499.85Highest $499.85
one sideboth sides

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Logan Health - Shelby lowest Shelby, MT · (406) 434-3200 US Thoracentesis - Report $499.85 $769.00 — 35% Apr 1, 2026
source file
Logan Health - Shelby lowest Shelby, MT · (406) 434-3200 CT Thoracentesis - Report $499.85 $769.00 — 35% Apr 1, 2026
source file
Logan Health - Shelby both sides Shelby, MT · (406) 434-3200 US Thoracentesis Bilateral - Report $499.85 $769.00 — 35% Apr 1, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $499.85, median $499.85, highest $499.85.

Both sides : lowest $499.85, median $499.85, highest $499.85.

The two groups are not comparable and are not averaged together: a price for both sides of the body covers twice the work. Merging them is how a single published "median" ends up far above what one side actually costs.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $499.85. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

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.