Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Providence, RI
In Providence-Warwick, RI-MA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $565.00 to $4,209.63, with a median of $2,387.32. The lowest listed price is at Rhode Island Hospital — $1,822.32 less than the median here. Across Rhode Island, the median is $2,387.32 at 2 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 69433, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Providence-Warwick, RI-MA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island Hospital lowest Providence, RI · (401) 444-4000 HC PR TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $565.00 | $565.00 | — | — | — source file |
| Rhode Island Hospital Providence, RI · (401) 444-4000 HC TYMPANOSTOMY W/VENT W/ANES | $1,667.00 | $1,667.00 | — | — | — source file |
| South County Health Wakefield, RI · (401) 782-8000 Tympanostomy (requiring insertion of ventilating tube), local or topical anesthesia | $4,209.63 | $7,016.05 | $1,184.00 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $565.00, median $2,387.32, highest $4,209.63 — a 7.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $565.00. 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 not 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 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.