Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in Washington DC

Prices at 3 hospitals in Washington DC, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,229 — about the US median ($1,252), roughly 4.0× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Howard University Hospital Corp Washington, DC $1,199 $1,199 ★ 1/5 222 min
Medstar Washington Hospital Center Washington, DC $1,229 $1,418 ★ 3/5 377 min
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Washington, DC $1,629 $1,678 ★ 3/5 365 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)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,890
Cash / self-pay
$1,229
Insurer-negotiated
$1,418
Medicare pays
$311
$1,205$1,549
Median cash $1,229  ·  Medicare $311  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,229 — about 4.0× 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 $1,890 list price could save about $662 (35%).

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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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