Breathing treatment cost in New Orleans, LA
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 8 hospitals list a cash price for breathing treatment (nebulizer or inhaler) for airway obstruction: from $70.56 to $210.10, with a median of $90.57. The lowest listed price is at Tulane Medical Center and 2 other hospitals — $20.01 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $78.88 at 12 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 3 cities for code 94640, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jun 24, 2026 and Jul 1, 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulane Medical Center lowest New Orleans, LA Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $70.56 | $504.00 | $100.80–$65.52 | 86% | Jun 25, 2026 source file |
| Lakeside Hospital lowest Metairie, LA Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $70.56 | $504.00 | $100.80–$65.52 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| East Jefferson General Hospital lowest Metairie, LA · (504) 988-5263 Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $70.56 | $504.00 | $100.80–$65.52 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| West Jefferson Medical Center Marrero, LA · (504) 347-5511 Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $87.20 | $545.00 | $105.02–$62.89 | 84% | Jun 30, 2026 source file |
| Touro Infirmary New Orleans, LA · (504) 897-8247 Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $93.94 | $671.00 | $125.01–$954.00 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| New Orleans East Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 592-6600 Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $120.64 | $754.00 | $170.14–$452.40 | 84% | Jun 24, 2026 source file |
| Childrens Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 899-9511 Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $189.81 | $703.00 | $170.14–$8.06 | 73% | Jun 24, 2026 source file |
| University Med Center New Orleans, LA · (504) 702-3000 Respiratory Inhaled Pressure/Nonpressure Treatm Reliev Airw Obstr/Sput Spec | $210.10 | $955.00 | $16.49–$955.00 | 78% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $70.56, median $90.57, highest $210.10 — a 3.0× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 3 of 8 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 6 it is 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
A breathing treatment delivers medicine such as albuterol through a nebulizer or inhaler to open the airways during an asthma or COPD flare.
What the price covers
The price is for one treatment. Repeated treatments in one visit can each be billed, and the medicine may be billed separately.