Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in Montana

Prices at 11 hospitals in Montana, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $794 — 36% below the US median ($1,239), roughly 2.6× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
St Peters Health Helena, MT $278 $278 ★ 3/5 179 min —
St Luke Community Hospital Ronan, MT $468 $408 — 109 min —
Sidney Health Center Sidney, MT $602 $171 ★ 3/5 152 min —
Clark Fork Valley Hospital Plains, MT $621 $707 — 148 min —
Roosevelt Medical Center Culbertson, MT $622 $610 — 100 min —
Billings Clinic Billings, MT $965 — ★ 4/5 176 min —
Billings Clinic Broadwater Townsend, MT $965 — — 76 min —
Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital Bozeman, MT $1,464 $641 ★ 4/5 142 min —
Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center Big Sky, MT $1,640 $641 — 107 min —
Great Falls Clinic Hospital Great Falls, MT $2,143 $1,084 ★ 2/5 140 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)
$965
Cash / self-pay
$794
Insurer-negotiated
$615
Medicare pays
$311
$449$1,691
Median cash $794  ·  Medicare $311  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $794 — 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 $965 list price could save about $172 (18%).

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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 Montana →