Ear tubes surgery cost in Philadelphia, PA — inpatient
In Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 3 hospitals list a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) under general anesthesia, one ear as an inpatient: from $350.00 to $6,440.00, with a median of $350.00. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and 1 other hospital. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $3,029.93 at 11 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 69436, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 31, 2026 and Mar 31, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital lowest Darby, PA · (215) 237-4000 PR Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $350.00 | $350.00 | $49.25–$665.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| St Mary Medical Center lowest Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 PR Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $350.00 | $350.00 | $49.25–$665.00 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Nemours Children's Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Tympanostomy Requiring Insert Vent Tube General Anesthesia | $6,440.00 | $6,440.00 | — | — | — source file |
| Nemours Children's Hospital Wilmington, DE · (302) 651-4000 Tympanostomy Requiring Insert Vent Tube General Anesthesia | $6,440.00 | $6,440.00 | — | — | — source file |
Inpatient: lowest $350.00, median $350.00, highest $6,440.00 — a 18.4× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $8,544.68 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 2 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 procedure makes a tiny opening in the eardrum and places a small tube to let air in and fluid drain out of the middle ear. It is most often done in children with repeated ear infections or lasting fluid behind the eardrum.
What the price covers
The facility price covers the operating room and recovery. The surgeon and anesthesia are usually billed separately, and the code is for one ear.