Tonsil and adenoid removal, 12+ cost in Chicago, IL
In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 8 hospitals list a cash price for tonsil and adenoid removal, age 12 or older: from $3,535.00 to $24,770.23, with a median of $14,642.66. The lowest listed price is at Saint Francis Hospital and 1 other hospital — $11,107.66 less than the median here. Across Illinois, the median is $4,091.49 at 13 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 8 cities for code 42821, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 1, 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Francis Hospital lowest Evanston, IL · (847) 316-4000 Remove tonsils and adenoids | $3,535.00 | $13,126.00 | $300.15–$10,894.58 | 73% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center lowest Aurora, IL · (630) 859-2222 Remove tonsils and adenoids - 42821 - OR36042821 | $3,535.00 | $21,652.00 | $291.91–$21,652.00 | 84% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Winfield, IL · (630) 682-1600 HB Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Age 12/> | $13,902.81 | $19,861.16 | — | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Lake Forest, IL · (847) 234-5600 HB Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Age 12/> | $14,234.07 | $20,334.39 | $3,577.00–$3,975.00 | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital DeKalb, IL · (815) 756-1521 HB Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Age 12/> | $15,051.25 | $21,501.79 | — | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva, IL · (630) 208-3000 HB Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Age 12/> | $15,701.94 | $22,431.34 | $3,577.00–$3,975.00 | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Palos Community Hospital Palos Heights, IL · (708) 923-4000 HB Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Age 12/> | $19,170.79 | $27,386.84 | $3,577.00–$3,975.00 | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital McHenry, IL · (815) 344-5000 HB Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Age 12/> | $24,770.23 | $35,386.04 | $4,551.00–$5,962.50 | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $3,535.00, median $14,642.66, highest $24,770.23 — a 7.0× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 6 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
This is surgery to remove both the tonsils and the adenoids in someone age 12 or older. It is done for repeated infections or for snoring and breathing problems during sleep caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
What the price covers
The facility price covers the operating room and recovery. The surgeon's fee and anesthesia are usually billed separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 42821 ($3,320.80). 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.
| Humboldt Park Health Chicago, ILRemoval of tonsils and adenoid glands (12 years or older) | $302.53 | file |