Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 6 hospitals list a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $70.68 to $4,470.00, with a median of $1,187.22. The lowest listed price is at Jefferson Regional Medical Center — $1,116.54 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $910.25 at 12 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 3 cities for code 69433, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 25, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Apr 14, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center lowest Jefferson Hills, PA · (412) 469-5000 PR TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $70.68 | $372.00 | $10.88–$1,604.81 | 81% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PA · (412) 295-3319 PR TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $96.72 | $372.00 | $79.28–$1,627.65 | 74% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 PR TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $100.44 | $372.00 | $79.28–$1,719.03 | 73% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $2,274.00 | $3,790.00 | $83.05–$3,486.80 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $2,813.40 | $4,689.00 | $83.05–$3,985.65 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $4,470.00 | $7,450.00 | $83.05–$6,332.50 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $70.68, median $1,187.22, highest $4,470.00 — a 63.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $2,813.40. 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 6 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 code covers placing a small tube in the eardrum while awake, with numbing medicine, usually in older children or adults.
What the price covers
The price covers the procedure and the tube. The office visit may be billed separately.