Prices at 7 hospitals in Houston, TX, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,543 — 25% above the US median ($1,239), roughly 5.0× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center | Houston, TX | $1,424 | — | ★ 4/5 | 252 min | — |
| Memorial Hermann Hospital System | Houston, TX | $1,424 | — | ★ 3/5 | 243 min | — |
| St Luke's Hospital at the Vintage | Houston, TX | $1,663 | $1,283 | ★ 4/5 | 209 min | — |
| St Joseph Medical Center | Houston, TX | $1,831 | $652 | ★ 3/5 | 180 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)
Typical cash price here is $1,543 — about 5.0× the Medicare rate ($311). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($622).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $4,449 list price could save about $2,906 (65%).
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 Houston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Marker, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Houston, TX | 173 |
| Phillip Parmet, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Houston, TX | 167 |
| Kyung Lee, PA-C | Physician Assistant | Houston, TX | 155 |
| Samantha Zapalac, RN | Nurse Practitioner | Houston, TX | 145 |
| Nhu Binh Nguyen, PA-C | Physician Assistant | Houston, TX | 138 |
| Jose Cesar-Dorantes, PA-C | Physician Assistant | Houston, TX | 95 |
| Michael Richter, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Houston, TX | 79 |
| Ashley Ly, PA-C | Physician Assistant | Houston, TX | 76 |
| Koonj Shaikh, PA-C | Physician Assistant | Houston, TX | 74 |
| Nicholas Gray, PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT | Physician Assistant | Houston, TX | 73 |
| Lara Bashoura, M.D. | Pulmonary Disease | Houston, TX | 72 |
| Aaditya Nagaraj | Interventional Radiology | Houston, TX | 66 |
All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices in Texas → · All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices (national) · All hospitals in Houston