Ear tubes, local anesthesia cost in Washington
In Washington, 8 hospitals publish a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) with local anesthesia, one ear: from $267.75 to $955.23, with a median of $523.75. The lowest price is at Kittitas County Public Hospital Dist 1 (Ellensburg). The highest price is 3.6× the lowest.
- The median here, $523.75, is 29% below the US median of $741.60.
- That is about the same as Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($551.01).
- Washington ranks 15th of 34 states by median, cheapest first.
- 1 of 8 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Washington law (RCW 70.170.060) requires hospital charity care: patients with family income up to 300% of the federal poverty level owe nothing at hospitals in large health systems (200% at other hospitals), with 75% and 50% discounts up to 400% (300% at other hospitals). It covers the part of the bill a patient owes, insured or not. Ask the hospital for its charity care 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$267.75Kittitas County Public Hospital Dist 1
Median$523.75half of hospitals charge less
Highest$955.23in Washington
Lowest saves$256.00vs the median
Hospitals in Washington, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kittitas County Public Hospital Dist 1 lowest Ellensburg · Ellensburg, WA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $267.75 | $315.00 | Oct 7, 2026 source file |
| Astria Toppenish Hospital Toppenish · Yakima, WA 69433 Create eardrum | $278.20 | $428.00 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Valley Medical Center Renton · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Tympanostomy Local/Topical Anesthesia | $354.20 | $506.00 | Mar 12, 2026 source file |
| Skagit Valley Hospital Mount Vernon · Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA HC CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $476.00 | $595.00 | Mar 26, 2026 source file |
| Confluence Health Hospital Wenatchee · Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA HC Create Eardrum Opening,Local Anesth--Pbb | $571.50 | $635.00 | Aug 10, 2026 source file |
| Forks Community Hospital Forks · Port Townsend, WA Incision of eardrum with insertion of eardrum tube under local or topical anesthesia | $754.40 | $943.00 | Oct 27, 2026 source file |
| Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Tympanostomy W/ Local Anesthesia | $817.10 | $817.10 | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA TYMPANOSTOMY,LOCAL OR TOPICAL ANESTHESIA--FAC | $955.23 | $1,873.00 | Jan 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
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
| Metro area | Hospitals | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 3 | $354.20 | $817.10 |
| Ellensburg, WA | 1 | $267.75 | $267.75 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 1 | $476.00 | $476.00 |
| Port Townsend, WA | 1 | $754.40 | $754.40 |
| Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | 1 | $571.50 | $571.50 |
| Yakima, WA | 1 | $278.20 | $278.20 |
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
- 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
- West Virginia$620.00
- Wisconsin$522.60
- Wyoming$458.28, 2 hospitals
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.