Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) cost in Austin, TX

Prices at 10 hospitals in Austin, TX, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,232 — 4% below the US median ($1,278), roughly 4.3× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin Austin, TX $970 $466 ★ 3/5 184 min —
Dell Seton Med Center at the University of Tx Austin, TX $970 $335 ★ 4/5 249 min —
Ascension Seton Southwest Austin, TX $970 $335 — 130 min —
Ascension Seton Northwest Austin, TX $970 $335 ★ 4/5 173 min —
Dell Children's Medical Center Austin, TX $1,495 $335 — — —
St David's Medical Center Austin, TX $2,338 $2,520 ★ 4/5 160 min —
St David's South Austin Medical Center Austin, TX $2,338 $2,455 ★ 3/5 138 min —
Texas Childrens Hospital North Austin Campus Austin, TX $3,154 $3,013 — — —

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 October 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)
$2,694
Cash / self-pay
$1,232
Insurer-negotiated
$401
Medicare pays
$284
$970$2,583
Median cash $1,232  ·  Medicare $284  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,232 — about 4.3× the Medicare rate ($284). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($568).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $2,694 list price could save about $1,462 (54%).

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 Austin

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.

ClinicianSpecialtyLocationMedicare services
Stanislav Spiridonov, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyAustin, TX127
Eric MahlmannPhysician AssistantAustin, TX85
Christopher Vargo, M.D.Interventional RadiologyAustin, TX25
Ravi Jhaveri, MDDiagnostic RadiologyAustin, TX21

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Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) in other Texas cities

All Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) prices in Texas → · All Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) prices (national) · All hospitals in Austin