Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in Michigan

Prices at 64 hospitals in Michigan, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $808 — 35% below the US median ($1,239), roughly 2.6× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Sparrow Ionia Hospital Ionia, MI $146 $357 ★ 2/5 158 min —
University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Carson Carson City, MI $153 $641 ★ 4/5 91 min —
Edward W Sparrow Hospital Lansing, MI $153 $596 ★ 3/5 299 min —
University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Clinton Saint Johns, MI $153 $452 ★ 4/5 182 min —
Up Health System Portage Hancock, MI $215 — ★ 5/5 140 min —
Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield and Novi Southfield, MI $225 $224 ★ 4/5 196 min —
Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital Rochester, MI $225 $224 ★ 3/5 187 min —
Hills & Dales General Hospital Cass City, MI $299 $1,169 ★ 4/5 91 min —
McLaren Port Huron Port Huron, MI $349 $338 ★ 2/5 231 min —
McLaren Northern Michigan Petoskey, MI $356 $338 ★ 3/5 157 min —
McLaren Oakland Pontiac, MI $372 $338 ★ 2/5 103 min —
McLaren Thumb Region Bad Axe, MI $387 $108 ★ 5/5 119 min —
McLaren Greater Lansing Lansing, MI $394 $143 ★ 3/5 261 min —
University of Michigan Health-West Wyoming, MI $394 $344 ★ 4/5 188 min —
McLaren Macomb Mount Clemens, MI $438 $159 ★ 1/5 172 min —
Marlette Regional Hospital Marlette, MI $485 $437 — 106 min —
Kalkaska Memorial Health Center Kalkaska, MI $561 $506 — 108 min —
Hillsdale Hospital Hillsdale, MI $580 $546 ★ 3/5 180 min —
McLaren Caro Region Caro, MI $596 $108 — 72 min —
Lake Huron Medical Center Port Huron, MI $621 $622 ★ 4/5 168 min —
Garden City Hospital Garden City, MI $622 $622 ★ 2/5 114 min —
Ascension River District Hospital East China, MI $634 $584 ★ 3/5 122 min —
McKenzie Health System Sandusky, MI $636 $145 — 133 min —
University of Michigan Health System Ann Arbor, MI $681 $305 ★ 4/5 345 min —
McLaren Lapeer Region Lapeer, MI $692 $148 ★ 2/5 186 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)
$1,312
Cash / self-pay
$808
Insurer-negotiated
$600
Medicare pays
$311
$225$1,796
Median cash $808  ·  Medicare $311  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $808 — about 2.6× the Medicare rate ($311). On the higher side. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($622).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,312 list price could save about $505 (38%).

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.

Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in other states

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