Breathing treatment cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 21 hospitals list a cash price for breathing treatment (nebulizer or inhaler) for airway obstruction: from $71.40 to $1,477.20, with a median of $189.60. The lowest listed price is at UPMC St Margaret and 1 other hospital — $118.20 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $223.00 at 99 hospitals.
- The median here, $189.60, is 15% above the US median of $164.63.
- That is 0.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($223.72).
- Pittsburgh, PA has the lowest median of 2 metro areas in Pennsylvania with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 21 facilities across 14 cities for code 94640, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 10, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 17, 2025 and Oct 28, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC St Margaret lowest Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 DRUG AEROSOL INITIAL+4 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $71.40 | $119.00 | $24.90–$213.30 | 40% |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless lowest Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC DRUG AEROSOL INITIAL+1 more line at this price File of Mar 7, 2026 · source file | $71.40 | $119.00 | $24.90–$213.30 | 40% |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 TREATMENT IPPB+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $75.18 | $107.40 | $36.52–$447.20 | 30% |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 CONTINUOUS AEROSOL < 1HR+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $83.54 | $119.35 | $10.48–$447.20 | 30% |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 IPPB INITIAL/EVAL+3 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $96.00 | $160.00 | $24.90–$213.30 | 40% |
| Excela Health - Frick Hospital Mt Plesant, PA · (724) 547-1500 SPUTUM INDUCTION File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $103.20 | $172.00 | $21.08–$198.40 | 40% |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT INITIAL+5 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $108.00 | $180.00 | $24.90–$213.30 | 40% |
| Butler Memorial Hospital Butler, PA Sputum Induction+2 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $114.10 | $163.00 | $30.48–$171.15 | 30% |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 MDI INITIAL+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $128.40 | $214.00 | $24.90–$213.30 | 40% |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 692-5325 CONT INHLN TX PER DAY+6 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $145.80 | $243.00 | $11.42–$463.78 | 40% |
| Armstrong County Memorial Hospital Kittanning, PA HHN RX+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $173.10 | $577.00 | $11.83–$577.00 | 70% |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 DRUG AEROSOL ADMIN INITIAL+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $189.60 | $316.00 | $25.10–$278.08 | 40% |
| Excela Health Westmoreland Regional Hospital Greeensburg, PA · (724) 832-4000 NEBULIZER RX+6 more lines at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $250.80 | $418.00 | $11.83–$570.22 | 40% |
| Excela Health Latrobe Hospital Latrobe, PA · (724) 832-4000 NEBULIZER RX+6 more lines at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $250.80 | $418.00 | $11.83–$570.22 | 40% |
| Excela Health - Frick Hospital Mt Plesant, PA · (724) 547-1500 NEBULIZER RX+5 more lines at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $250.80 | $418.00 | $4.00–$922.81 | 40% |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 DRUG AEROSOL INITIAL+4 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $272.40 | $454.00 | $24.67–$408.60 | 40% |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 IPV INITIAL+5 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $337.20 | $562.00 | $24.90–$477.70 | 40% |
| Allegheny Valley Hospital Natrona Heights, PA · (412) 224-5100 HC TX INH AERO SPUTUM INITIAL+1 more line at this price File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $458.15 | $595.00 | $6.38–$618.14 | 23% |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 HC TX INH AERO SPUTUM INITIAL+1 more line at this price File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $482.53 | $661.00 | $9.28–$686.57 | 27% |
| Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 359-3131 HC TX INH AERO SPUTUM SUBSEQUENT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $502.36 | $661.00 | $6.38–$682.00 | 24% |
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PA · (412) 469-5000 HC TX INH AERO SPUTUM SUBSEQUENT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $508.68 | $628.00 | $6.38–$640.95 | 19% |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 SVN & OR MDI INITIAL TX File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $1,477.20 | $2,462.00 | $662.28–$3,017.18 | 40% |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 SPONTANEOUS AEROSOL - MDI INITIAL+5 more lines at this price File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $1,477.20 | $2,462.00 | $829.69–$1,920.36 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $71.40, median $189.60, highest $1,477.20 — a 20.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 22 facilities here, median $194.30. 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 21 of 21 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 breathing treatment is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Breathing treatment explained.