Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) cost in North Dakota

Prices at 12 hospitals in North Dakota, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,109 — 13% below the US median ($1,278), roughly 3.9× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
CHI St Alexius Health Dickinson Dickinson, ND $208 $287 ★ 2/5 174 min —
CHI St Alexius Health Devils Lake Devils Lake, ND $681 $1,305 ★ 2/5 133 min —
CHI St Alexius Health Williston Williston, ND $766 $835 ★ 3/5 156 min —
Altru Hospital Grand Forks, ND $813 $1,334 ★ 3/5 177 min —
Lisbon Area Health Services Lisbon, ND $907 $1,323 — 110 min —
Jamestown Regional Medical Center Jamestown, ND $1,045 $1,003 ★ 4/5 109 min —
Essentia Health Fargo, ND $1,173 $1,044 ★ 3/5 108 min —
Mountrail County Medical Center Inc Stanley, ND $1,287 $1,287 — 83 min —
St Andrew's Hospital Bottineau, ND $1,388 $973 — 105 min —
Tioga Medical Center Tioga, ND $1,860 $1,860 — 82 min —
Sanford Medical Center Bismarck Bismarck, ND $1,876 $1,648 ★ 4/5 180 min —
Sanford Medical Center Fargo Fargo, ND $2,214 $1,427 ★ 4/5 181 min —

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)
$1,565
Cash / self-pay
$1,109
Insurer-negotiated
$1,296
Medicare pays
$284
$689$1,874
Median cash $1,109  ·  Medicare $284  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,109 — about 3.9× 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 $1,565 list price could save about $456 (29%).

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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.

Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) cost in other states

All Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) prices (national) → · All hospitals in North Dakota →