Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Iowa
In Iowa, 17 hospitals publish a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $284.70 to $3,697.40, with a median of $417.02. The lowest price is at MercyOne Clinton Medical Center (Clinton). The highest price is 13.0× the lowest.
- The median here, $417.02, is 44% below the US median of $741.60.
- That is 0.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($551.01).
- Iowa ranks 7th of 34 states by median, cheapest first.
- 2 of 17 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 69433. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Oct 31, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$284.70MercyOne Clinton Medical Center
Median$417.02half of hospitals charge less
Highest$3,697.40in Iowa
Lowest saves$132.32vs the median
Hospitals in Iowa, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Clinton Medical Center one side lowest Clinton · Clinton, IA HC Tympanostomy Local Anesthesia Lt | $284.70 | $438.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Council Bluffs · Omaha, NE-IA Tympanostomy local or topical anesthesia | $306.90 | $1,023.00 | Feb 15, 2026 source file |
| Decatur County Hospital Leon · Leon, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $328.00 | $410.00 | Mar 4, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center one side Mason City · Mason City, IA HC Tympanostomy Local Anesthesia Lt | $339.30 | $522.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Belmond Community Hospital Belmond · Belmond, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $344.40 | $574.00 | Apr 22, 2026 source file |
| WinnMed Decorah · Decorah, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $345.10 | $493.00 | Oct 13, 2026 source file |
| Audubon County Memorial Hospital Audubon · Audubon, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $390.00 | $390.00 | Sep 14, 2026 source file |
| Manning Regional Healthcare Center Manning · Carroll, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $390.28 | $582.50 | Oct 16, 2026 source file |
| Shelby County Chris A Myrtue Memorial Hospital Harlan · Harlan, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $417.02 | $719.00 | Apr 21, 2026 source file |
| Floyd County Memorial Hospital Commission Charles City · Charles City, IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $551.20 | $1,378.00 | Sep 30, 2026 source file |
| Hawarden Regional Healthcare Harwarden · Harwarden, IA MYRINGOTOMY WITH TUBE PLACEMENT 1 EAR | $551.26 | $648.54 | Apr 24, 2026 source file |
| Broadlawns Medical Center one side Des Moines · Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Tympanostomy Local; Unilateral | $590.00 | $590.00 | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital and Clinic West Union · West Union, IA HCHG 69433 TYMPANOSTOMY-INSERT TUBE | $592.22 | $997.00 | Jun 27, 2026 source file |
| Community Memorial Hospital Medical Center one side Sumner · Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA HC TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL; UNILATERAL | $600.00 | $750.00 | Jun 18, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center one side Waterloo · Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA HC Tympanostomy Local Anesthesia Lt | $1,549.60 | $2,384.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Down Iowa City · Iowa City, IA HB TYMPANOSTOMY (W/ VENT TUBE INSERT) LOCAL ANESTHESIA | $3,697.40 | $5,282.00 | Mar 11, 2026 source file |
| University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics Iowa City · Iowa City, IA HB TYMPANOSTOMY (W/ VENT TUBE INSERT) LOCAL ANESTHESIA | $3,697.40 | $5,282.00 | Mar 11, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City, IA | 2 | $3,697.40 | $3,697.40 |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 2 | $600.00 | $1,074.80 |
| Audubon, IA | 1 | $390.00 | $390.00 |
| Belmond, IA | 1 | $344.40 | $344.40 |
| Charles City, IA | 1 | $551.20 | $551.20 |
| Carroll, IA | 1 | $390.28 | $390.28 |
| Clinton, IA | 1 | $284.70 | $284.70 |
| Decorah, IA | 1 | $345.10 | $345.10 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 1 | $590.00 | $590.00 |
| Harlan, IA | 1 | $417.02 | $417.02 |
| Harwarden, IA | 1 | $551.26 | $551.26 |
| Leon, IA | 1 | $328.00 | $328.00 |
| Mason City, IA | 1 | $339.30 | $339.30 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 1 | $306.90 | $306.90 |
| West Union, IA | 1 | $592.22 | $592.22 |
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
- Illinois$550.00
- Indiana$593.60, 3 hospitals
- 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.