Prices at 6 hospitals in Los Angeles, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $2,033 — 62% above the US median ($1,252), roughly 6.5× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Hospital Medical Center La | Los Angeles, CA | $1,296 | $786 | ★ 2/5 | 254 min | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $2,033 | $751 | ★ 5/5 | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-West La | Los Angeles, CA | $2,033 | $751 | ★ 3/5 | — | — |
| East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital | Los Angeles, CA | $3,051 | $1,177 | ★ 1/5 | 172 min | — |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | Los Angeles, CA | $4,100 | $11,386 | ★ 5/5 | 355 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 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)
Typical cash price here is $2,033 — about 6.5× 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 $3,910 list price could save about $1,877 (48%).
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 Los Angeles
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doran Kim, M.D. | Internal Medicine | Los Angeles, CA | 185 |
| Marco Floridia, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 159 |
| Max Padgett | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 117 |
| Philip Ng, M.D. | Internal Medicine | Los Angeles, CA | 78 |
| Megan Sue, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 70 |
| Bashir Akhavan Tafti, M.D | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 68 |
| Dingle Foote, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 56 |
| Christopher Molloy, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 54 |
| Ajita Deodhar, M.D | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 52 |
| Janet Weir, FNP | Nurse Practitioner | Los Angeles, CA | 37 |
| Arman Yaghoubian, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 26 |
| Donny Baek, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Los Angeles, CA | 25 |
All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices in California → · All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices (national) · All hospitals in Los Angeles