Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in New Mexico

Prices at 11 hospitals in New Mexico, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,346 — 9% above the US median ($1,239), roughly 4.3× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services Gallup, NM $275 $734 — 136 min —
Unm Hospital Albuquerque, NM $531 $618 ★ 2/5 273 min —
Union County General Hospital Clayton, NM $801 $1,029 — 132 min —
Guadalupe County Hospital Santa Rosa, NM $1,066 $1,185 — — —
Memorial Medical Center Las Cruces, NM $1,336 $2,690 ★ 2/5 206 min —
Holy Cross Hospital a Div of Taos Health Systems Taos, NM $1,346 $2,183 ★ 1/5 92 min —
Artesia General Hospital Artesia, NM $1,654 $587 — 99 min —
Lovelace Medical Center Albuquerque, NM $1,752 $4,381 ★ 2/5 212 min —
Lovelace Women's Hospital Albuquerque, NM $1,752 $4,381 ★ 4/5 205 min —
Lovelace Westside Hospital Albuquerque, NM $1,752 $4,381 ★ 4/5 159 min —
Lovelace Regional Hospital-Roswell Roswell, NM $1,752 $4,381 ★ 2/5 130 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)
$2,226
Cash / self-pay
$1,346
Insurer-negotiated
$2,183
Medicare pays
$311
$531$1,752
Median cash $1,346  ·  Medicare $311  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,346 — about 4.3× 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 $2,226 list price could save about $880 (40%).

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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.

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Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in other states

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