Prices at 6 hospitals in Sacramento, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,756 — 40% above the US median ($1,252), roughly 5.6× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy General Hospital | Sacramento, CA | $881 | $894 | ★ 3/5 | 170 min | — |
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $1,164 | $1,524 | ★ 3/5 | 185 min | — |
| University of California Davis Medical Center | Sacramento, CA | $1,166 | $2,491 | ★ 4/5 | 328 min | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $2,346 | $785 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hosp So Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $2,346 | $785 | ★ 2/5 | — | — |
| Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $3,570 | — | ★ 4/5 | 192 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 $1,756 — about 5.6× 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 $4,042 list price could save about $2,286 (57%).
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 Sacramento
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gail Egan, N.P. | Nurse Practitioner | Sacramento, CA | 106 |
| Laura West, FNP | Nurse Practitioner | Sacramento, CA | 61 |
| Paul Dong, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 56 |
| Benjamin Coombs, D.O. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 55 |
| Stan Zipser, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 48 |
| Abdur Khan, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 46 |
| Arian Nikpour, MD, MPH | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 43 |
| Henal Patel, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 43 |
| Christopher Laing, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 39 |
| Aneel Mandava, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 37 |
| Hsiu Jan Chen | Nurse Practitioner | Sacramento, CA | 32 |
| Chima Okam, AGNP | Nurse Practitioner | Sacramento, CA | 28 |
All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices in California → · All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices (national) · All hospitals in Sacramento