Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Nebraska
In Nebraska, 16 hospitals publish a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $148.50 to $1,744.50, with a median of $455.17. The lowest price is at Saunders Medical Center (Wahoo). The highest price is 11.7× the lowest.
- The median here, $455.17, is 39% below the US median of $741.60.
- That is 0.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($551.01).
- Nebraska ranks 11th of 34 states by median, cheapest first.
- 4 of 16 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 Nov 5, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$148.50Saunders Medical Center
Median$455.17half of hospitals charge less
Highest$1,744.50in Nebraska
Lowest saves$306.67vs the median
Hospitals in Nebraska, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saunders Medical Center lowest Wahoo · Omaha, NE-IA PF/TECH TYMPANOSTOMY LOCAL/TOPICAL ANESTHESIA | $148.50 | $198.00 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Harlan County Health System Alma · Alma, NE Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $232.37 | $290.46 | Oct 15, 2026 source file |
| Howard County Medical Center St. Paul · Grand Island, NE SC CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $245.00 | $245.00 | Oct 14, 2026 source file |
| St Francis Memorial Hospital one side West Point · West Point, NE MYRINGOTOMY, WITH TUBE, UNILATERAL | $335.00 | $335.00 | Mar 18, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha · Omaha, NE-IA Tympanostomy local or topical anesthesia | $368.28 | $1,023.00 | Feb 14, 2026 source file |
| Methodist Fremont Health Fremont · Fremont, NE Tympanostomy local or topical anesthesia | $409.22 | $1,106.00 | Feb 16, 2026 source file |
| Nemaha County Hospital Auburn · Auburn, NE TYMPANOSTOMY W/ TUBE INSERTION | $414.00 | $414.00 | Jun 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Medical Center Wayne · Wayne, NE 69433 Tympanostomy (requiring insertion of ventilating tube), local or topical anesthesia | $445.40 | $524.00 | Oct 20, 2026 source file |
| St. Mary's Community Hospital one side Nebraska City · Nebraska City, NE HC INSERT MT UNILATERAL LOCAL | $464.94 | $567.00 | Sep 30, 2026 source file |
| Phelps Memorial Health Center Holdrege · Holdrege, NE Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $485.10 | $539.00 | Feb 16, 2026 source file |
| Bellevue Medical Center Bellevue · Omaha, NE-IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $506.81 | $779.70 | Aug 10, 2026 source file |
| Nebraska Medical Center Omaha · Omaha, NE-IA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $506.81 | $779.70 | Aug 10, 2026 source file |
| Kearney County Hospital Minden · Kearney, NE 69433 Tympanostomy W/local | $554.00 | $693.00 | — source file |
| West Holt Memorial Hospital Atkinson · Atkinson, NE Ent Tympanostomy Uni | $886.00 | $1,107.00 | — source file |
| Syracuse Area Health Syracuse · Syracuse, NE 69433 Tympanostomy Create Eardrum Opening Charge | $1,060.00 | $1,060.00 | — source file |
| Midwest Surgical Hospital Omaha · Omaha, NE-IA CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $1,744.50 | $2,326.00 | Mar 5, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 5 | $148.50 | $506.81 |
| Alma, NE | 1 | $232.37 | $232.37 |
| Atkinson, NE | 1 | $886.00 | $886.00 |
| Auburn, NE | 1 | $414.00 | $414.00 |
| Fremont, NE | 1 | $409.22 | $409.22 |
| Grand Island, NE | 1 | $245.00 | $245.00 |
| Holdrege, NE | 1 | $485.10 | $485.10 |
| Kearney, NE | 1 | $554.00 | $554.00 |
| Nebraska City, NE | 1 | $464.94 | $464.94 |
| Syracuse, NE | 1 | $1,060.00 | $1,060.00 |
| Wayne, NE | 1 | $445.40 | $445.40 |
| West Point, NE | 1 | $335.00 | $335.00 |
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
- Minnesota$437.38
- Mississippi$370.80
- Missouri$541.70
- Montana$435.78
- 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.