Thoracentesis cost in Maine
In Maine, 22 hospitals publish a cash price for thoracentesis with imaging guidance: from $130.55 to $3,345.45, with a median of $686.40. The lowest price is at MaineHealth Stephens Hospital (Norway). The highest price is 25.6× the lowest.
- The median here, $686.40, is 44% below the US median of $1,224.53.
- That is 1.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($640.89).
- Maine ranks 4th of 50 states by median, cheapest first.
- 7 of 22 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 32555. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Nov 11, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$130.55MaineHealth Stephens Hospital
Median$686.40half of hospitals charge less
Highest$3,345.45in Maine
Lowest saves$555.85vs the median
Hospitals in Maine, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MaineHealth Stephens Hospital lowest Norway · Norway, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $130.55 | $130.55 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
| Penobscot Valley Hospital Lincoln · Bangor, ME DIAGNOSTIC THORACENTESIS W/GUIDANCE | $196.11 | $245.14 | Apr 24, 2026 source file |
| Northern Light AR Gould Hospital Presque Isle · Presque Isle, ME ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING FF | $424.20 | $2,020.00 | Mar 30, 2026 source file |
| Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center Bangor · Bangor, ME G8 THORACENTESIS W IMAGING | $505.89 | $2,409.00 | Feb 3, 2026 source file |
| Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital Pittsfield · Pittsfield, ME US GUIDED THORACENTESIS | $594.32 | $1,748.00 | Mar 30, 2026 source file |
| Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital Ellsworth · Ellsworth, ME US Thoracentesis w/Aspiration Exam DTA | $602.25 | $2,409.00 | Mar 30, 2026 source file |
| Central Maine Medical Center Lewiston · Lewiston-Auburn, ME HC THORACENTESIS NDL/CATH PLEURA ASP W IMAG | $618.00 | $2,691.25 | Jun 25, 2026 source file |
| Calais Community Hospital Calais · Calais, ME Thoracentesis W/ Imaging | $621.00 | $828.00 | — source file |
| Northern Light Mercy Hospital Portland · Portland-South Portland, ME THORACENTESIS W IMAGING | $625.56 | $2,406.00 | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| Blue Hill Memorial Hospital Blue Hill · Blue Hill, ME ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING | $646.76 | $1,748.00 | Mar 30, 2026 source file |
| Millinocket Regional Hospital Millinocket · Bangor, ME THORACENTESIS, NEEDLE/CATH, AS | $672.30 | $747.00 | May 26, 2026 source file |
| Redington-Fairview General Hospital Skowhegan · Skowhegan, ME HOSP APIRATE PLEURA W/IMAGING | $700.50 | $1,010.00 | Jul 23, 2026 source file |
| St Mary's Regional Medical Center Lewiston · Lewiston-Auburn, ME HC SP THORA FOR ASPIRATION | $745.56 | $1,962.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| LincolnHealth Damariscotta · Damariscotta, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $783.40 | $783.40 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
| York Hospital York · Portland-South Portland, ME ASPIRATE PLEURA W/IMAGING | $1,033.20 | $1,722.00 | Jul 4, 2026 source file |
| MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Biddeford Biddeford · Portland-South Portland, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $1,149.25 | $1,149.25 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
| MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital Rockport · Rockport, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $1,332.80 | $1,332.80 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
| St Joseph Hospital Bangor · Bangor, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING | $1,413.21 | $2,771.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MaineHealth Franklin Hospital Farmington · Farmington, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $1,902.25 | $1,902.25 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
| MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital Brunswick · Portland-South Portland, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $2,021.05 | $2,021.05 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
| Mount Desert Island Hospital Bar Harbor · Bar Harbor, ME 32555 Thoracentesis, needle or catheter, aspiration of the pleural space; with imaging guidance | $2,227.50 | $2,475.00 | Jul 8, 2026 source file |
| MaineHealth Waldo Hospital Belfast · Belfast, ME HC ASPIRATE PLEURA W/ IMAGING GUIDANCE | $3,345.45 | $3,345.45 | Oct 30, 2026 source file |
Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.
Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More
List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More
File date When the hospital last updated its price file, as the file says itself. A dash means the file gives no date.
At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More
Check the item The description in the hospital file looks like a supply or device (a catheter, a brace, an implant), not this procedure. The hospital may have filed it under the wrong code: ask before relying on this price.
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
| Metro area | Hospitals | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangor, ME | 4 | $196.11 | $589.10 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | 4 | $625.56 | $1,091.22 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 2 | $618.00 | $681.78 |
| Bar Harbor, ME | 1 | $2,227.50 | $2,227.50 |
| Belfast, ME | 1 | $3,345.45 | $3,345.45 |
| Blue Hill, ME | 1 | $646.76 | $646.76 |
| Calais, ME | 1 | $621.00 | $621.00 |
| Damariscotta, ME | 1 | $783.40 | $783.40 |
| Ellsworth, ME | 1 | $602.25 | $602.25 |
| Farmington, ME | 1 | $1,902.25 | $1,902.25 |
| Norway, ME | 1 | $130.55 | $130.55 |
| Pittsfield, ME | 1 | $594.32 | $594.32 |
| Presque Isle, ME | 1 | $424.20 | $424.20 |
| Rockport, ME | 1 | $1,332.80 | $1,332.80 |
| Skowhegan, ME | 1 | $700.50 | $700.50 |
Market A metro area (as the Census Bureau defines it) or, outside metro areas, a town. Each links to every hospital price there.
Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.
Lowest The lowest cash price among those hospitals.
Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More
What thoracentesis is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Thoracentesis explained.
Thoracentesis with imaging guidance in other states
- Alabama$1,055.53
- Alaska$2,211.30
- Arizona$1,106.95
- Arkansas$925.00
- California$2,033.20
- Colorado$1,250.95
- Connecticut$1,253.00
- Delaware$1,784.75
- District of Columbia$1,228.69, 3 hospitals
- Florida$1,874.28
- Georgia$1,410.41
- Hawaii$1,434.00
- Idaho$1,155.70
- Illinois$1,250.00
- Indiana$1,095.50
- Iowa$983.20
- Kansas$969.83
- Kentucky$978.22
- Louisiana$646.80
- Maryland$1,249.16
- Massachusetts$1,787.00
- Michigan$1,092.18
- Minnesota$926.91
- Mississippi$843.94
- Missouri$1,022.79
- Montana$927.54
- Nebraska$939.00
- Nevada$1,259.58
- New Hampshire$1,063.30
- New Jersey$1,782.00
- New Mexico$1,229.41
- New York$1,282.00
- North Carolina$1,029.60
- North Dakota$792.75
- Ohio$1,737.60
- Oklahoma$684.00
- Oregon$1,534.65
- Pennsylvania$1,474.38
- Puerto Rico$600.00, 4 hospitals
- Rhode Island$1,714.65
- South Carolina$1,404.00
- South Dakota$1,842.00
- Tennessee$633.65
- Texas$1,410.82
- Utah$1,018.79
- Vermont$1,258.00
- Virginia$1,321.80
- Washington$1,321.84
- West Virginia$1,250.40
- Wisconsin$1,200.00
- Wyoming$1,088.89
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.