CPT 17004 · professional fee

Destroy premal lesions 15/> (CPT 17004): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 17004, from their published in-network rate files.

DermatologySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$154

P10 to P90: $95 to $325

vs Medicare

95%

non-facility rate $162.33

Payer spread

1.67×

UHC $194 vs Aetna $116

State spread

3.8×

AK $395 to AZ $105

4,289 sampled providers5,653 TINs51 statesSample-based · how this is calculated

What the data shows

Generated from this code's own numbers

UnitedHealthcare has the highest median for CPT 17004 in the files analyzed, at $194, 67% above Aetna ($116), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.8×: Alaska has the highest median at $395 and Arizona the lowest at $105, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 95% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($162.33), which ranks 206th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $49) and widest within UnitedHealthcare ($139).

This is a top-9 code for dermatology by Medicare allowed dollars, so it carries real revenue weight for that specialty.

Rates by payer

Median of per-provider median rates, with interquartile range

Payer	Median	P25	P75	vs national	Rank	Providers	Position
UnitedHealthcare	$194	$154	$293	+26%	1	3,645	120% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$156	$121	$218	+1%	2	3,348	96% of Medicare
Cigna	$150	$110	$216	-2%	3	3,531	92% of Medicare
Aetna	$116	$96	$145	-24%	4	3,054	72% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($162.33)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 50 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$395	+157%	n/a	n/a	16
2	Wisconsin	$343	+123%	BCBS	Aetna	103
3	North Dakota	$230	+50%	n/a	n/a	24
4	South Dakota	$228	+49%	UHC	BCBS	37
4	Nebraska	$228	+49%	UHC	BCBS	48
6	Oregon	$225	+46%	UHC	Aetna	108
7	New Hampshire	$224	+46%	UHC	Aetna	78
8	Massachusetts	$221	+44%	UHC	Aetna	116
9	Hawaii	$220	+43%	Cigna	UHC	41
10	Washington	$220	+43%	UHC	Aetna	107
11	Minnesota	$217	+41%	BCBS	Aetna	116
12	Maine	$206	+34%	UHC	Aetna	41
13	Iowa	$205	+34%	Cigna	Aetna	63
14	Georgia	$192	+25%	UHC	Aetna	116
15	Mississippi	$190	+24%	BCBS	Cigna	55
16	West Virginia	$175	+14%	Cigna	UHC	31
17	Connecticut	$168	+10%	UHC	Aetna	109
18	North Carolina	$162	+5%	BCBS	Aetna	125
19	Illinois	$162	+5%	UHC	BCBS	113
20	Rhode Island	$162	+5%	UHC	BCBS	48
21	Kansas	$159	+4%	UHC	Aetna	73
22	Pennsylvania	$155	+1%	BCBS	Aetna	117
23	Colorado	$155	+1%	UHC	Aetna	125
23	Montana	$155	+1%	UHC	BCBS	43
25	Utah	$155	+1%	UHC	BCBS	113
26	Nevada	$155	+1%	UHC	Aetna	65
27	Vermont	$155	+1%	UHC	Cigna	21
28	Idaho	$154	+0%	UHC	Aetna	46
29	Missouri	$154	+0%	UHC	Aetna	118
30	Ohio	$151	-2%	UHC	Aetna	115
31	Kentucky	$149	-3%	UHC	Aetna	112
32	New York	$148	-4%	UHC	Aetna	107
33	Delaware	$147	-4%	UHC	Aetna	18
34	California	$147	-5%	UHC	Aetna	98
35	Alabama	$139	-9%	BCBS	Cigna	131
36	Tennessee	$139	-10%	UHC	Cigna	123
37	Texas	$137	-11%	UHC	Aetna	134
38	New Mexico	$137	-11%	UHC	Aetna	33
39	Arkansas	$136	-12%	UHC	Aetna	65
40	Louisiana	$134	-13%	UHC	Cigna	130
41	Indiana	$133	-13%	UHC	Aetna	116
42	Virginia	$131	-15%	UHC	BCBS	121
43	South Carolina	$130	-16%	BCBS	Aetna	109
44	Oklahoma	$127	-17%	UHC	Aetna	80
45	New Jersey	$123	-20%	BCBS	Aetna	99
46	Maryland	$120	-22%	UHC	BCBS	108
47	District of Columbia	$119	-22%	UHC	Cigna	36
48	Michigan	$115	-25%	UHC	BCBS	108
49	Florida	$110	-29%	BCBS	Cigna	114
50	Arizona	$105	-32%	UHC	BCBS	104

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 17004?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $194 across 3,645 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $116, 67% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 95% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $162.33.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 17004?

Alaska has the highest median at $395; Arizona has the lowest at $105.

Is this the surgeon, physician or facility payment?

These are professional (physician) fees only. Facility, device and implant payments are priced separately and are not included.

How current is this data?

It is the August 2026 snapshot of each payer's in-network rate file. Sources and filters are listed in the methodology below.

Methodology

How these numbers are calculated

Source: in-network negotiated-rate files published under the federal Transparency in Coverage rule, August 2026 snapshot: UnitedHealthcare Choice plans (74 files); Aetna commercial plans (70 files); Cigna national PPO (1 files); BCBS licensees' own-network files (5,387 files). Payer comparisons describe these files, not each payer's entire book of business.
Sample: rates come from a random sample of up to 150 providers per state and specialty. Counts on this page are sampled providers and TINs, not totals.
Which providers count: only providers in a specialty relevant to the code, because a rate in a payer file attaches to a provider group and is listed under every provider in that group.
Filters: fee-for-service, professional billing class, no modifier, negotiated or fee-schedule dollar rates. Rates outside 1% to 1,000% of the Medicare rate are excluded.
Statistic: one median rate per provider, then percentiles across providers. A cell is shown only with at least 15 sampled providers and 4 TINs.
Medicare benchmark: CY2026 national physician fee schedule, non-QPP conversion factor, unadjusted for locality. Where the non-facility rate is more than twice the facility rate (office rates that include device or supply cost), the facility rate is used so comparisons are like for like.

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