Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Illinois
In Illinois, 25 hospitals publish a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $186.00 to $11,083.72, with a median of $550.00. The lowest price is at Gibson Area Hospital (Gibson City). The highest price is 59.6× the lowest.
- The median here, $550.00, is 26% below the US median of $741.60.
- That is about the same as Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($551.01).
- Illinois ranks 17th of 34 states by median, cheapest first.
- 10 of 25 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Illinois law (Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act, 210 ILCS 89): an uninsured Illinois resident with family income up to 600% of the federal poverty level (300% at rural and critical access hospitals) can apply for a discount that brings the bill down to about 135% of the hospital's cost; up to 200% (125% at rural hospitals) medically necessary care is free. A hospital may collect no more than 25% of family income in 12 months. Ask the billing office for the application. Other states' laws.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 69433. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Nov 6, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$186.00Gibson Area Hospital
Median$550.00half of hospitals charge less
Highest$11,083.72in Illinois
Lowest saves$364.00vs the median
Hospitals in Illinois, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson Area Hospital lowest Gibson City · Champaign-Urbana, IL CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $186.00 | $186.00 | Nov 4, 2026 source file |
| Humboldt Park Health Chicago · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $204.33 | $729.75 | Sep 29, 2026 source file |
| John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital Chicago · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN PF-CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $226.80 | $324.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Gottlieb Memorial Hospital Melrose Park · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Tympanostomy W/Tube | $288.80 | $1,520.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| MacNeal Hospital Berwyn · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Tympanostomy W/Tube | $288.80 | $1,520.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| NorthShore University HealthSystems Glenbrook Hospital Glenview · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Create Eardrum Opening Local Anesth | $309.40 | $476.00 | Jan 1, 2025 source file |
| NorthShore University HealthSystems Skokie Hospital Skokie · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Create Eardrum Opening Local Anesth | $309.40 | $476.00 | Jan 1, 2025 source file |
| Loyola University Medical Center Maywood · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Tympanostomy W/Tube | $349.60 | $1,520.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Rockford Memorial Hospital Rockford · Rockford, IL HC PBB CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $433.92 | $578.56 | Mar 1, 2026 source file |
| Carlinville Area Hospital Carlinville · St. Louis, MO-IL TYMPANOSTOMY | $514.50 | $735.00 | Mar 21, 2026 source file |
| Advocate Childrens Hospital Oak Lawn Oak Lawn · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN TYMPANOSTOMY & TUBE INSERT | $550.00 | $1,100.00 | Nov 3, 2026 source file |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN TYMPANOSTOMY & TUBE INSERT | $550.00 | $1,100.00 | Nov 3, 2026 source file |
| Endeavor Health Highland Park Hospital Highland Park · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $550.00 | $550.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northshore University Healthsystem - Evanston Hospital Evanston · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $550.00 | $550.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Swedish Covenant Health Chicago · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $550.00 | $550.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwest Community Hospital Arlington Heights · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Hb Create Eardrum Opening | $597.00 | $597.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Morrison Community Hospital Morrison · Sterling, IL TYMPAN W/TUBE LOCAL/TOP ANES | $710.50 | $710.50 | Mar 13, 2026 source file |
| Thomas H Boyd Memorial Hospital Carrollton · Carrollton, IL Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $796.80 | $996.00 | Jul 7, 2026 source file |
| Carle Eureka Hospital Eureka · Peoria, IL Tympanostomy Local/Topical Anesthesia | $982.00 | $982.00 | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| Midwest Medical Center Galena · Galena, IL 69433 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $1,163.89 | $1,279.00 | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| FHN Memorial Hospital Freeport · Freeport, IL Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $1,190.40 | $1,488.00 | Jan 22, 2026 source file |
| Carle BroMenn Medical Center Normal · Bloomington, IL Create Eardrum Opening,Local Anesth | $1,597.00 | $1,597.00 | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| The Carle Foundation Hospital Urbana · Champaign-Urbana, IL Create Eardrum Opening,Local Anesth | $2,247.00 | $2,247.00 | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| The University of Chicago Medical Center Chicago · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Hc Tympanostomy, Local Or Topical Anesthesia-Pbb | $5,762.00 | $5,762.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Tympanostomy Local/Topical Anesthesia | $11,083.72 | $15,833.89 | Apr 1, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 15 | $204.33 | $550.00 |
| Champaign-Urbana, IL | 2 | $186.00 | $1,216.50 |
| Bloomington, IL | 1 | $1,597.00 | $1,597.00 |
| Carrollton, IL | 1 | $796.80 | $796.80 |
| Freeport, IL | 1 | $1,190.40 | $1,190.40 |
| Galena, IL | 1 | $1,163.89 | $1,163.89 |
| Peoria, IL | 1 | $982.00 | $982.00 |
| Rockford, IL | 1 | $433.92 | $433.92 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 1 | $514.50 | $514.50 |
| Sterling, IL | 1 | $710.50 | $710.50 |
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 ear tubes, local anesthesia is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Ear tubes, local anesthesia explained.
Ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear in other states
- Alabama$279.75, 1 hospital
- Alaska$938.00, 3 hospitals
- Arizona$584.09, 2 hospitals
- Arkansas$468.00
- California$1,024.40
- Colorado$470.43, 3 hospitals
- Connecticut$738.24, 1 hospital
- Delaware$2,746.00, 1 hospital
- District of Columbia$1,678.43, 1 hospital
- Florida$1,072.00
- Georgia$911.43
- Hawaii$1,221.50, 3 hospitals
- Idaho$709.71
- Indiana$593.60, 3 hospitals
- Iowa$417.02
- Kansas$446.40
- Kentucky$323.80
- Louisiana$508.00
- Maine$344.25
- Massachusetts$1,424.50
- Michigan$326.23
- Minnesota$437.38
- Mississippi$370.80
- Missouri$541.70
- Montana$435.78
- Nebraska$455.17
- Nevada$807.20, 2 hospitals
- New Jersey$3,886.00
- New Mexico$389.92, 2 hospitals
- New York$1,089.00
- North Carolina$651.78
- North Dakota$996.83
- Ohio$1,324.05
- Oklahoma$284.00
- Oregon$563.08
- Pennsylvania$1,096.60
- Rhode Island$2,938.32, 2 hospitals
- South Carolina$999.22
- South Dakota$741.60
- Tennessee$380.60
- Texas$811.68
- Utah$875.98, 1 hospital
- Vermont$352.40, 4 hospitals
- Virginia$818.00
- Washington$523.75
- West Virginia$620.00
- Wisconsin$522.60
- Wyoming$458.28, 2 hospitals
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.