Breathing treatment cost in Maryland
In Maryland, 17 hospitals publish a cash price for breathing treatment (nebulizer or inhaler) for airway obstruction: from $53.13 to $2,475.87, with a median of $151.17. The lowest price is at Union Hospital of Cecil County (Elkton). The highest price is 46.6× the lowest.
- The median here, $151.17, is 8% below the US median of $164.63.
- That is 0.7× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($223.72).
- Maryland ranks 21st of 50 states by median, cheapest first.
- 2 of 17 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Why Maryland prices look low: Maryland is the only state where a commission (the HSCRC) sets hospital rates for every payer, so its hospitals publish prices far below the rest of the country. A separate physician fee may still apply.
Maryland law (Health-General §19-214.1) requires hospitals to give free medically necessary care to patients with family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and to cut the bill by 75% up to 250% and 60% up to 300%. With medical debt above 25% of family income in a year, discounts reach up to 500%. Immigration status does not count. Ask the hospital for its financial assistance application. Other states' laws.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 94640. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Oct 29, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$53.13Union Hospital of Cecil County
Median$151.17half of hospitals charge less
Highest$2,475.87in Maryland
Lowest saves$98.04vs the median
Hospitals in Maryland, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Hospital of Cecil County lowest Elkton · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD INHALATION TREATMENT,INSTILL MED,ETT | $53.13 | $53.13 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| TidalHealth Peninsula Salisbury · Salisbury, MD HC HAND HELD NEBULIZER SUBSEQUENT | $56.27 | $57.42 | Mar 19, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Western Maryland Cumberland · Cumberland, MD-WV INHALATION TREATMENT-OP ADM | $63.60 | $106.00 | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| The Kennedy Krieger Institute Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC PRESSURIZED OR NONPRESSURIZED INHALATION TREATMENT FOR ACUTE AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION | $72.00 | $90.00 | Aug 27, 2026 source file |
| Frederick Health Hospital Frederick · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MEDICATION ADMIN RESP - OP | $123.73 | $126.26 | Mar 17, 2025 source file |
| MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $127.00 | $129.59 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Southern Hospital Center Clinton · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $137.36 | $140.16 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Greater Baltimore Medical Center Towson · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC Medication Adm OP | $138.90 | $141.73 | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Olney · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $151.17 | $154.26 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar St. Mary's Hospital Leonardtown · Lexington Park, MD AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $151.48 | $154.57 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Harbor Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $159.14 | $162.39 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC INHALATION TREATMENT OUTPATIENT CHEMO | $164.87 | $168.23 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $178.12 | $181.76 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD AIRWAY INHALATION TREATMENT-OP | $202.10 | $206.22 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD COUGH ASSIST/IPPB SUBSQ | $366.13 | $373.60 | Nov 5, 2025 source file |
| Meritus Medical Center Hagerstown · Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV HC Aerosol Med Delivery | $1,180.70 | $1,204.80 | Jun 10, 2026 source file |
| Atlantic General Hospital Berlin · Ocean Pines, MD Pressurized or nonpressurized inhalation treatment for acute airway obstruction for therapeutic purposes and/or for diagnostic purposes such as sputum induction with an aerosol generator, nebulizer, metered dose inhaler or intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB) device | $2,475.87 | $2,475.87 | Apr 10, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 8 | $72.00 | $162.00 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3 | $123.73 | $137.36 |
| Cumberland, MD-WV | 1 | $63.60 | $63.60 |
| Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 1 | $1,180.70 | $1,180.70 |
| Lexington Park, MD | 1 | $151.48 | $151.48 |
| Ocean Pines, MD | 1 | $2,475.87 | $2,475.87 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1 | $53.13 | $53.13 |
| Salisbury, MD | 1 | $56.27 | $56.27 |
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 breathing treatment is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Breathing treatment explained.
Breathing treatment (nebulizer or inhaler) for airway obstruction in other states
- Alabama$125.25
- Alaska$424.32
- Arizona$259.79
- Arkansas$78.52
- California$322.92
- Colorado$286.25
- Connecticut$215.15
- Delaware$293.28
- District of Columbia$320.06, 3 hospitals
- Florida$260.20
- Georgia$188.76
- Hawaii$181.43
- Idaho$208.60
- Illinois$192.50
- Indiana$112.80
- Iowa$118.80
- Kansas$127.80
- Kentucky$132.06
- Louisiana$93.94
- Maine$190.47
- Massachusetts$292.50
- Michigan$169.68
- Minnesota$116.70
- Mississippi$66.47
- Missouri$140.38
- Montana$109.80
- Nebraska$148.52
- Nevada$236.10
- New Hampshire$129.58
- New Jersey$225.22
- New Mexico$120.60
- New York$224.00
- North Carolina$104.34
- North Dakota$104.50
- Ohio$175.50
- Oklahoma$132.00
- Oregon$170.38
- Pennsylvania$223.00
- Puerto Rico$49.41, 4 hospitals
- Rhode Island$219.00
- South Carolina$156.29
- South Dakota$217.60
- Tennessee$98.55
- Texas$201.00
- Utah$280.34
- Vermont$194.28
- Virginia$157.80
- Washington$200.74
- West Virginia$204.80
- Wisconsin$86.45
- Wyoming$109.25
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.