Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) Cost in Lincoln, NE

Prices at 3 hospitals in Lincoln, NE, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $869 — 31% below the US median ($1,252), roughly 2.8× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

See negotiated rates for your insurer:

Hospital	Location	Cash	Insurer	CMS rating	ER wait	Readmit
CHI Health St. Elizabeth	Lincoln, NE	$540	$669	★ 4/5	158 min	—
Bryan Medical Center	Lincoln, NE	$869	$653	★ 3/5	112 min	—
CHI Health Nebraska Heart	Lincoln, NE	$1,002	$1,146	★ 4/5	—	—

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated September 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)

$1,449

Cash / self-pay

$869

Insurer-negotiated

$669

Medicare pays

$311

$605$976

Median cash $869 · Medicare $311 · bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)

Is this a fair price?

1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $869 — about 2.8× the Medicare rate ($311). On the higher side. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($622).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,449 list price could save about $580 (40%).

Estimate what you’ll pay

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

Doctors who perform this in Lincoln

Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.

Clinician	Specialty	Location	Medicare services
Michael Budler, M.D.	Interventional Radiology	Lincoln, NE	51
Kyle Pfeifer, MD	Interventional Radiology	Lincoln, NE	49
Benjamin Wiese, M.D.	Pulmonary Disease	Lincoln, NE	15

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All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices in Nebraska → · All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices (national) · All hospitals in Lincoln