Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Tracheostomy supplies and what they cost | CION Cancer Clinics
The cost of a tracheostomy at home is mostly the supplies you use every week, not the tube alone. Suction tubes, dressings, ties, saline and filters add up, along with a suction machine bought once. Metal, plastic and cuffed tubes sit in different cost bands. Schemes usually cover the operation, while cover for home supplies varies. This page explains what to buy, what changes the bill and what to ask your insurer. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
MI
Medically reviewed by Dr. Mohammed ImaduddinConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS, MS (General Surgery), MCh (Surgical Oncology) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What does a tracheostomy cost to look after at home?
- What will you need to buy?
- Which tube sits in which cost band?
- What do schemes and insurance usually pay for?
- Which costs come once, and which keep coming?
- Where does cutting costs put breathing at risk?
- How can you spend less without cutting corners?
- Common questions about tracheostomy supplies and cost
The short answer
What does a tracheostomy cost to look after at home?
The tube itself is rarely the largest cost. What adds up is the steady stream of supplies you use every week, such as suction tubes, dressings, ties and saline, plus a few machines bought once.
Why there is no single price
Tracheostomy tubes come in plastic, silicone and metal, with or without a cuff (a small balloon that seals the windpipe) and with or without an inner tube. Each type is priced differently and lasts a different length of time. Someone who needs suction many times a day spends far more on suction tubes than someone who coughs up mucus easily.
What changes the bill most
Three things matter more than any shop price. How long the tube is expected to stay in. How much mucus needs clearing. And whether your scheme or insurance pays for anything used at home, rather than only for the operation and the hospital stay.
This page gives cost bands, not rupee figures. Prices change between suppliers and over the year, and a figure printed here would mislead more than it helps. Ask your centre for a written list with current prices.The supplies
What will you need to buy?
Your nurse will give you a list before discharge. Most lists are built from these groups. Buy only what is on your own list.
Tubes
The tube you go home with, and at least one spare of the same size kept ready for an emergency. Many teams also ask for a spare one size smaller.
Ask about
- How often it must be changed
- Whether the inner tube is sold separately
Suction
A suction machine, usually one that runs on mains power, and a battery or foot-pump unit for power cuts and travel. Suction tubes (catheters) are the item most families use the most of.
Moisture
A small filter that clips onto the tube and warms the air you breathe, called an HME or artificial nose. Some people also need a nebuliser and sterile saline to loosen thick mucus.
Dressings and ties
Pre-cut tracheostomy dressings that sit under the tube, and cotton tapes or a soft Velcro holder to keep it in place. These are changed daily or whenever wet.
Cleaning
Small brushes for the inner tube, sterile water or cooled boiled water, a clean bowl and disposable gloves. Cheap, but used every day.
Extras for some people
A speaking valve, a syringe to check the cuff, oxygen, or a stoma cover for going outdoors. Only buy these if your team has advised them.
Indicative cost
Which tube sits in which cost band?
Relative bands, not quotes. The tube you are given is chosen for your airway, never for its price.
Lower band over time
Metal tube, reusable
Silver or steel tubes are cleaned and reused for a long time, so the cost spreads out. They have no cuff and may need swapping for a plastic tube before radiotherapy or an MRI scan.
Middle band
Plastic tube, uncuffed
Light and widely available. Replaced at the interval your team sets, so the cost repeats through the time you have a tube.
Higher band
Cuffed, silicone or special tubes
Cuffed tubes, tubes with an inner tube, extra-long tubes and silicone tubes cost more each. They are used when the airway needs them.
Indicative only, for 2026. Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS and EHS are accepted for the operation itself, and most cashless insurers are empanelled. Cover for supplies used at home varies between schemes and policies, so your out-of-pocket cost is often different from the shop price. Call the helpline for an estimate against your own cover.
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Schemes and insurance
What do schemes and insurance usually pay for?
Most schemes and insurers pay for the tracheostomy operation and the hospital stay as part of your cancer treatment. Supplies used at home after discharge are where cover becomes patchy, so check before you buy.
The operation and the stay
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS and EHS all cover cancer surgery in approved packages, and a tracheostomy done during or around that surgery usually falls inside the package. With cashless insurance, the hospital asks your insurer for approval before admission. Ask the billing desk whether the first tube, the first set of dressings and the suction machine used on the ward are included.
After you go home
Some policies pay for supplies bought within a set period after discharge. Others treat them as outpatient costs and pay nothing. A few employer and government schemes reimburse a suction machine when a doctor certifies it is needed. The rules differ, so read your own policy or ask the scheme office.
Paperwork that helps
Keep every bill in one folder. Ask your surgeon for a letter listing the supplies you need and why.
Planning the budget
Which costs come once, and which keep coming?
Bought once
Bought again and again
Suction machine and a backup unit for power cuts
Suction tubes, often the largest ongoing spend
Nebuliser or humidifier, if your team advises one
Sterile saline and artificial-nose filters
Metal tube, where one is used
Plastic or silicone tubes, at each change
Speaking valve, which lasts a while with care
Dressings, tapes and gloves, used every day
An emergency grab bag with a spare tube
Replacing whatever you use from that bag
Savings that are not safe
Where does cutting costs put breathing at risk?
"A spare tube is a waste. We will buy one if it is ever needed."
A blocked or dislodged tube needs replacing in minutes, not after a trip to the chemist. The spare tube is the one item on the list you should never go without, even if you never use it.
"Any tube that fits the hole will do."
Tubes differ in width, length, curve and cuff. A cheaper tube of a different make or size can sit wrongly in the windpipe. Buy exactly what your team wrote down, and ask before switching brand.
"Suction tubes can be washed and used for days."
Reusing single-use suction tubes carries germs straight into the lungs, and a chest infection costs far more than the tubes. Follow the exact reuse advice your nurse gives for your tubes.
"Ordinary gauze cut to shape works as well as a proper dressing."
Cut gauze sheds threads, and loose threads can be breathed into the tube. Use pre-cut tracheostomy dressings, or fold gauze without cutting it if your nurse shows you how.
Keeping the cost down
How can you spend less without cutting corners?
The safest savings come from buying the right things once and wasting less of them. Ask your nurse which items are reusable and how to clean them, and which must be thrown away after one use.
Buy with a written list
Take the discharge list, with makes and sizes, to the pharmacy or medical supply shop. Hospital pharmacies and large medical supply shops in Hyderabad often stock more than a small local chemist in a district town, so buy a sensible stock before travelling home.
Use less by preventing problems
Good moisture, enough drinking water and regular cleaning keep mucus thin, which means less suction and fewer suction tubes.
Who this advice does not suit
If your tube is new, your mucus is heavy or you have had recent bleeding, follow your team's instructions exactly and do not try to stretch supplies. This page cannot tell you what you will spend. Only your centre, with your tube type and your cover in front of them, can give a real estimate.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about tracheostomy supplies and cost
How much does a tracheostomy tube cost in India?
It depends on the type. Metal tubes cost more at first but are reused. Plastic uncuffed tubes are the most widely used. Cuffed and silicone tubes cost more each. Prices change between suppliers, so ask your centre or supplier for a current written price for the exact make and size on your list.
Do we need to buy a suction machine?
Most people who go home with a tracheostomy need one, at least at first, because mucus can block the tube. Your team will tell you before discharge. A backup that works without mains power is worth having in areas with power cuts. Ask whether renting a machine is possible if the tube is expected to be temporary.
Does Aarogyasri pay for supplies at home?
Aarogyasri covers cancer surgery in approved packages, and the tracheostomy done during that treatment is usually included. Supplies bought after discharge are handled differently, and the rules can change. Ask the Aarogyasri desk at your hospital before you are discharged, and keep all bills in case a claim is possible.
Can we reuse the inner tube?
Many inner tubes are designed to be cleaned and reused, and some are disposable. Check the packet and ask your nurse which kind you have. A reusable inner tube still needs cleaning every day, and it is replaced when the outer tube is changed or if it cracks or discolours.
Is a metal tube cheaper in the long run?
Often, because it is reused for a long time. It does not suit everyone. Metal tubes have no cuff, so they are not used where the airway must be sealed, and they may need to be swapped for a plastic tube before radiotherapy or an MRI. Your team decides which tube is safe for you.
Where can we buy supplies in a district town?
Small chemists may not stock the exact tube or dressing you need. Buy a starting stock from the hospital pharmacy or a medical supply shop in Hyderabad before you leave. Ask the supplier whether they courier to your town, and save their number with the rest of your emergency details.
Do CGHS, ECHS or EHS cover tracheostomy supplies?
They cover cancer surgery in approved packages, and some beneficiaries can claim for items a doctor certifies as needed at home. The rules are set by each scheme and can change. Ask your scheme office or dispensary before buying, keep every bill, and call the helpline if you want help understanding what applies to you.
What happens to the cost once the tube comes out?
Once the tube is removed and the opening has healed, the ongoing supplies stop. You may have leftover stock, which you should not pass on to another patient without their team checking it is the right type. Keep the letter and bills, since some insurers ask for them when a claim is reviewed later.
What moves the figure
What affects the cost
Four things change the total more than anything else.
The technique used
A shaped or image-guided delivery costs more than a conventional one, and is chosen on clinical grounds rather than preference.
How many sessions
The total is driven by the number of sittings or cycles, not by a single per-visit figure.
Supporting tests
Scans, blood work and pathology done alongside treatment are billed separately.
Your cover
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS or cashless insurance usually change the out-of-pocket figure substantially.
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
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Sources
- NHS — Tracheostomy
- Cancer.Net — Financial considerations
- National Cancer Institute — Head and Neck Cancers
- Cancer.Net — Head and Neck Cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Cost, Insurance and Schemes for Cancer SurgeryPackages, pre-authorisation and what schemes pay forThe Parts of a Tracheostomy TubeKnow what each part is before you buy sparesCuffed vs Uncuffed TubesWhy the tube you are given is chosen for your airwaySuctioning at Home: How to Do It SafelyThe daily task that uses the most suppliesA Printable Tracheostomy Emergency CardRecord the tube make and size you buy
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