Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in Iowa

Prices at 46 hospitals in Iowa, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,199 — 3% below the US median ($1,239), roughly 3.9× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
CHI Health-Mercy Corning Corning, IA $441 $698 ★ 3/5 124 min —
CHI Health Missouri Valley Missouri Valley, IA $450 $829 ★ 4/5 105 min —
Greene County Medical Center Jefferson, IA $494 $838 — 104 min —
Methodist Jennie Edmundson Council Bluffs, IA $559 $932 ★ 3/5 150 min —
Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital and Clinics West Union, IA $578 $787 ★ 5/5 85 min —
CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA $601 $633 ★ 5/5 171 min —
Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Storm Lake, IA $650 $725 ★ 2/5 152 min —
Clarke County Hospital Osceola, IA $728 $561 ★ 5/5 104 min —
Van Diest Medical Center Webster City, IA $769 $721 ★ 5/5 103 min —
Greater Regional Medical Center Creston, IA $842 $895 ★ 3/5 101 min —
Montgomery County Memorial Hospital Red Oak, IA $868 $645 — 113 min —
Trinity Muscatine Muscatine, IA $879 $283 ★ 4/5 136 min —
Trinity Regional Medical Center Fort Dodge, IA $879 $262 ★ 2/5 167 min —
Trinity-Bettendorf Bettendorf, IA $879 $262 ★ 3/5 205 min —
Cherokee Regional Medical Center Cherokee, IA $914 $1,015 ★ 2/5 134 min —
Finley Hospital Dubuque, IA $918 $357 ★ 3/5 114 min —
Stewart Memorial Community Hospital Lake City, IA $949 — — 127 min —
Unitypoint Health-Marshalltown Marshalltown, IA $1,046 $357 ★ 3/5 162 min —
Allen Hospital Waterloo, IA $1,046 $262 ★ 3/5 163 min —
Mercyone Newton Medical Center Newton, IA $1,165 $641 ★ 4/5 155 min —
Mercy Medical Center-New Hampton New Hampton, IA $1,165 $1,116 — 119 min —
Spencer Municipal Hospital Spencer, IA $1,199 $1,359 ★ 4/5 128 min —
Mercyone Clinton Medical Center Clinton, IA $1,266 $110 ★ 4/5 123 min —
Mercyone Siouxland Medical Center Sioux City, IA $1,266 $110 ★ 2/5 199 min —
Guttenberg Municipal Hospital Guttenberg, IA $1,388 $1,215 — 96 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)
$1,754
Cash / self-pay
$1,199
Insurer-negotiated
$643
Medicare pays
$311
$566$2,473
Median cash $1,199  ·  Medicare $311  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,199 — about 3.9× 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 $1,754 list price could save about $555 (32%).

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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.

Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in other states

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