Tonsillectomy, age 12+ cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 1 hospital lists a cash price for tonsil removal (tonsillectomy) only, age 12 or older: from $459.54 to $459.54, with a median of $459.54. Across Tennessee, the median is $4,190.21 at 7 hospitals.
Cash prices at 1 facility for code 42826, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 1, 2025.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 REMOVAL OF TONSILS,12+ Y/O | $459.54 | $851.00 | $155.47–$851.00 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $459.54, median $459.54, highest $459.54.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $459.54. 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 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
This is surgery to remove the tonsils, without the adenoids, in someone age 12 or older. It is done for repeated throat infections, large tonsils that block breathing during sleep, or other tonsil problems.
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 42826 ($2,735.53). 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.
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TNREMOVAL OF TONSILS,12+ Y/O | $246.79 | file |