Surgery and procedures CPT 69209 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Ear irrigation cost in Duluth, MN — inpatient

In Duluth, MN-WI, 2 hospitals list a cash price for earwax removal by irrigation (rinsing), one ear (one side of the body) as an inpatient: from $30.19 to $62.02, with a median of $46.11. The lowest listed price is at Range Regional Health Services — $15.92 less than the median here. Across Minnesota, the median is $80.55 at 51 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 69209, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 29, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.

Lowest$30.19Range Regional Health Services
Median$46.11half pay less
Highest$62.02in this market
Difference2.1×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 Duluth, MN-WI.

median
Lowest $30.19Highest $133.01
one sideboth sides

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Range Regional Health Services one side lowest Hibbing, MN · (218) 362-6730 HC REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT $30.19 $71.03 $32.32–$70.68 57% Jan 29, 2026
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Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital one side Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT $62.02 $114.00 — 46% Apr 1, 2026
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Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital one side Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 Pro Removal Impacted Cerumen Irrigation/Lvg Unilat $62.02 $114.00 — 46% Apr 1, 2026
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Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital one side Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 Fac Removal Impacted Cerumen Irrigation/Lvg Unilat $88.67 $163.00 — 46% Apr 1, 2026
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Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital both sides Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 Pro Removal Impacted Cerumen Irrigation/Lvg Unilat|BILATERAL PROCEDURE $93.02 $171.00 — 46% Apr 1, 2026
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Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital both sides Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 Fac Removal Impacted Cerumen Irrigation/Lvg Unilat|BILATERAL PROCEDURE $133.01 $244.50 — 46% Apr 1, 2026
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One side of the body : lowest $30.19, median $46.11, highest $62.02 — a 2.1× difference within the same market.

Both sides : lowest $93.02, median $93.02, highest $93.02.

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 outpatient, the same code is billed by 9 facilities here, median $71.94 — 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 and 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 code covers rinsing impacted earwax out of one ear with water or saline.

What the price covers

The price is for one ear.