Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) Cost in Tulsa, OK

Prices at 3 hospitals in Tulsa, OK, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,722 — 39% above the US median ($1,239), roughly 5.5× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

See negotiated rates for your insurer:

Hospital	Location	Cash	Insurer	CMS rating	ER wait	Readmit
Ascension St John Medical Center	Tulsa, OK	$967	$212	★ 3/5	197 min	—
Hillcrest Medical Center	Tulsa, OK	$1,722	$2,216	★ 3/5	223 min	—
Hillcrest Hospital South	Tulsa, OK	$1,722	$2,216	★ 3/5	185 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)

$5,740

Cash / self-pay

$1,722

Insurer-negotiated

$2,216

Medicare pays

$311

$1,118$1,722

Median cash $1,722 · Medicare $311 · bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)

Is this a fair price?

1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,722 — about 5.5× 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 $5,740 list price could save about $4,018 (70%).

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.

Doctors who perform this in Tulsa

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
Brandon Banks, PA-C	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	106
Leslie Taylor, PA-C	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	59
Madison Pointer	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	59
Kyle Wertzberger, PA-C	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	58
Kelly Kushnerick, PA-C	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	56
Michael Walters, M.D.	Diagnostic Radiology	Tulsa, OK	48
Amanda Elder, PAC	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	44
Cordell Privat, MD	Interventional Radiology	Tulsa, OK	35
Gina Smith, PA-C	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	30
Jessica Weber, D.O.	Diagnostic Radiology	Tulsa, OK	29
Natalie Bennett, PA	Physician Assistant	Tulsa, OK	19
Timothy Nokes, DO	Pulmonary Disease	Tulsa, OK	17

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