Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Minnesota
In Minnesota, 18 hospitals publish a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $66.40 to $3,775.00, with a median of $478.79. The lowest price is at Community Memorial Hospital (Cloquet). The highest price is 56.9× the lowest.
- The median here, $478.79, is 35% below the US median of $741.60.
- That is 0.9× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($551.01).
- Minnesota ranks 12th of 34 states by median, cheapest first.
- 1 of 19 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. §144.589): a hospital may not charge an uninsured patient whose household income is under $125,000 more than the lowest amount it would be paid for the same service by a private insurer, counting the insured patient's share. If the cash price below is higher, ask the billing office to apply this limit. Each hospital's page here shows the range of insurer rates in its own file (the "Insurers pay" column), a starting point when you ask. 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 Oct 25, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$66.40Community Memorial Hospital
Median$478.79half of hospitals charge less
Highest$3,775.00in Minnesota
Lowest saves$412.39vs the median
Hospitals in Minnesota, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Memorial Hospital lowest Cloquet · Duluth, MN-WI ENT-SC FC,TYMPANOSTOMY | $66.40 | $103.75 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Aitkin Community Hospital Aitkin · Aitkin, MN HC TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $102.76 | $183.50 | Aug 12, 2026 source file |
| Stevens Community Medical Center Morris · Morris, MN Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $237.75 | $317.00 | Jun 26, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health Virginia Virginia · Duluth, MN-WI CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $351.68 | $560.00 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health Duluth Duluth · Duluth, MN-WI CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $369.60 | $560.00 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Children's Hospital Duluth · Duluth, MN-WI CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $369.60 | $560.00 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center Duluth · Duluth, MN-WI CREATE EARDRUM OPENING,LOCAL ANESTH | $369.60 | $560.00 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital Grand Rapids · Grand Rapids, MN HC TYMPANOSTOMY W LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTH | $426.49 | $1,003.50 | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| Range Regional Health Services Hibbing · Duluth, MN-WI HC TYMPANOSTOMY W LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTH | $426.49 | $1,003.50 | Jan 29, 2026 source file |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth · Duluth, MN-WI Fac Tympanostomy Local/Topical Anesthesia | $437.38 | $804.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Madison Hospital Madison · Madison, MN TYMPANOSTOMY, LOCAL OR TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $520.20 | $612.00 | Jun 23, 2026 source file |
| Appleton Area Health Appleton · Appleton, MN Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $546.55 | $643.00 | Jul 7, 2026 source file |
| Windom Area Hospital Windom · Windom, MN TX RM 69433 TYMPANOSTOMY W/LOCAL ANES | $639.20 | $940.00 | Feb 3, 2026 source file |
| Aspirus Lake View Hospital Two Harbors · Two Harbors, MN Fac Tympanostomy Local/Topical Anesthesia | $661.69 | $804.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Mille Lacs Health System Onamia · Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL OR TOPICAL ANESTH | $683.20 | $976.00 | Aug 13, 2026 source file |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji · Bemidji, MN ED 69433 TYMPANOSTOMY TOPICAL ANES | $712.00 | $890.00 | Mar 4, 2026 source file |
| Johnson Memorial Hospital Dawson · Dawson, MN TYMPANOSTOMY, LOCAL OR TOPICAL ANESTHESIA (PBB) | $846.61 | $996.01 | Sep 8, 2026 source file |
| Glacial Ridge Hospital Glenwood · Glenwood, MN Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $977.94 | $1,164.21 | Oct 21, 2026 source file |
| Childrens Health Care Minneapolis · Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI TYNPANSTMY W TUBE W/O ANESTH-SSU | $3,775.00 | $3,775.00 | May 7, 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
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
| Metro area | Hospitals | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duluth, MN-WI | 7 | $66.40 | $369.60 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 2 | $683.20 | $2,229.10 |
| Aitkin, MN | 1 | $102.76 | $102.76 |
| Appleton, MN | 1 | $546.55 | $546.55 |
| Bemidji, MN | 1 | $712.00 | $712.00 |
| Dawson, MN | 1 | $846.61 | $846.61 |
| Glenwood, MN | 1 | $977.94 | $977.94 |
| Grand Rapids, MN | 1 | $426.49 | $426.49 |
| Madison, MN | 1 | $520.20 | $520.20 |
| Morris, MN | 1 | $237.75 | $237.75 |
| Two Harbors, MN | 1 | $661.69 | $661.69 |
| Windom, MN | 1 | $639.20 | $639.20 |
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
- Iowa$417.02
- Kansas$446.40
- Kentucky$323.80
- Louisiana$508.00
- Maine$344.25
- Massachusetts$1,424.50
- Michigan$326.23
- 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.