Cost analysis for CPT 69210 — Removal of impacted ear wax
Average Medicare Payment
$30.39
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$38.7M
Services (2023)
1.3M
Price Change (2014–2023)
-7.7%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $32.92 | $42.6M | 1.3M | — |
| 2015 | $32.81 | $41.8M | 1.2M | -0.3% |
| 2016 | $32.08 | $41.7M | 1.3M | -2.2% |
| 2017 | $31.47 | $41.4M | 1.3M | -1.9% |
| 2018 | $31.49 | $41.8M | 1.3M | +0.1% |
| 2019 | $31.03 | $41.5M | 1.3M | -1.5% |
| 2020 | $30.92 | $32.6M | 1.0M | -0.4% |
| 2021 | $31.55 | $38.9M | 1.2M | +2.0% |
| 2022 | $30.66 | $38.3M | 1.2M | -2.8% |
| 2023 | $30.39 | $38.7M | 1.3M | -0.9% |
The most expensive state pays 1.9x more than the cheapest for this procedure. AK averages $37.28 vs VT at $19.67.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | $37.28 | $63.9K | 1.7K | 39 |
| NJ | $35.15 | $2.2M | 61.6K | 489 |
| NY | $34.87 | $3.9M | 112.8K | 860 |
| MD | $34.32 | $1.3M | 37.4K | 351 |
| CT | $33.58 | $532.2K | 15.8K | 158 |
| RI | $33.06 | $82.8K | 2.5K | 33 |
| MA | $31.99 | $1.4M | 43.9K | 428 |
| NV | $31.95 | $171.6K | 5.4K | 87 |
| FL | $31.26 | $4.6M | 145.9K | 1.1K |
| DC | $31.07 | $77.0K | 2.5K | 29 |
| VA | $31.03 | $963.1K | 31.0K | 409 |
| DE | $31.02 | $192.2K | 6.2K | 57 |
| CO | $30.62 | $378.1K | 12.3K | 219 |
| IL | $30.53 | $1.5M | 49.9K | 560 |
| TX | $30.52 | $1.8M | 57.4K | 777 |
| PA | $30.45 | $1.9M | 63.8K | 692 |
| WA | $30.45 | $699.4K | 23.0K | 238 |
| CA | $30.11 | $5.5M | 182.4K | 1.4K |
| MI | $29.83 | $758.8K | 25.4K | 360 |
| SC | $29.77 | $864.0K | 29.0K | 280 |
| AZ | $29.62 | $674.4K | 22.8K | 369 |
| GA | $29.47 | $716.9K | 24.3K | 335 |
| OR | $29.32 | $213.7K | 7.3K | 125 |
| HI | $29.28 | $54.8K | 1.9K | 34 |
| LA | $29.07 | $509.7K | 17.5K | 219 |
| NC | $29.03 | $928.7K | 32.0K | 411 |
| WY | $28.97 | $50.6K | 1.7K | 35 |
| AL | $28.60 | $333.0K | 11.6K | 160 |
| OK | $28.35 | $280.7K | 9.9K | 163 |
| UT | $28.00 | $165.6K | 5.9K | 112 |
| IN | $27.96 | $520.6K | 18.6K | 292 |
| PR | $27.76 | $59.4K | 2.1K | 41 |
| MO | $27.75 | $576.2K | 20.8K | 258 |
| MS | $27.60 | $241.9K | 8.8K | 116 |
| NH | $27.50 | $165.9K | 6.0K | 73 |
| KY | $27.41 | $409.7K | 14.9K | 186 |
| OH | $27.38 | $1.0M | 37.1K | 445 |
| TN | $27.36 | $490.0K | 17.9K | 279 |
| NM | $27.03 | $117.5K | 4.3K | 73 |
| VI | $27.00 | $6.5K | 239 | 4 |
| MT | $26.97 | $95.1K | 3.5K | 58 |
| MN | $26.82 | $256.1K | 9.5K | 172 |
| AR | $26.79 | $227.6K | 8.5K | 133 |
| IA | $26.47 | $387.8K | 14.7K | 199 |
| KS | $26.44 | $242.0K | 9.2K | 123 |
| SD | $26.26 | $115.2K | 4.4K | 55 |
| WV | $26.25 | $118.4K | 4.5K | 55 |
| NE | $25.74 | $188.8K | 7.3K | 126 |
| ME | $25.62 | $88.7K | 3.5K | 46 |
| ID | $25.55 | $124.7K | 4.9K | 72 |
| WI | $24.77 | $381.2K | 15.4K | 205 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey Paley | Otolaryngology | CA | $465.2K | 35.1K | $13.24 |
| Tim Kuson | Otolaryngology | CA | $165.8K | 4.4K | $37.87 |
| Michael Patete | Otolaryngology | FL | $76.1K | 2.4K | $32.33 |
| Mark Dome | Physician Assistant | CA | $73.0K | 2.5K | $29.42 |
| Phillip Wright | General Practice | CA | $69.1K | 2.7K | $25.21 |
| Douglas Mccorkle | Otolaryngology | MD | $65.9K | 1.8K | $36.44 |
| Michael O'leary | Otolaryngology | CA | $63.1K | 1.7K | $36.67 |
| Thomas Magardino | Otolaryngology | FL | $61.8K | 1.9K | $32.58 |
| Quoc Nguyen | Otolaryngology | CA | $60.4K | 1.5K | $41.06 |
| Steven Bello | Otolaryngology | FL | $58.8K | 1.9K | $31.40 |
| Michael Jungkeit | Otolaryngology | WA | $58.4K | 1.9K | $30.79 |
| Bartolomeo Castellano | Otolaryngology | NY | $58.2K | 1.4K | $40.29 |
| Gary Takowsky | Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery | CA | $56.7K | 1.5K | $37.46 |
| Andrew Mikaelian | Otolaryngology | CA | $54.7K | 1.6K | $34.51 |
| Bob Armin | Otolaryngology | CA | $54.7K | 1.5K | $36.06 |
| Elizabeth Mclaughlin | Nurse Practitioner | MA | $52.2K | 1.8K | $28.58 |
| Kenneth Scioscia | Otolaryngology | NY | $51.1K | 1.5K | $34.52 |
| Todd Parnes | Otolaryngology | FL | $47.9K | 1.8K | $27.07 |
| Patrick Reidy | Otolaryngology | FL | $46.8K | 1.3K | $35.21 |
| Stephen Rothstein | Otolaryngology | NY | $46.3K | 1.1K | $40.79 |
Based on the data, CPT 69210 shows a 1.9x variation in pricing across states — moderate variation by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 7.7% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.