CPT 20610 · professional fee

Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us (CPT 20610): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 20610, from their published in-network rate files.

Orthopedic surgerySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$81

P10 to P90: $49 to $153

vs Medicare

117%

non-facility rate $68.81

Payer spread

1.55×

UHC $100 vs Aetna $65

State spread

2.9×

AK $184 to AZ $64

38,948 sampled providers35,429 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 20610 in the files analyzed, at $100, 55% above Aetna ($65), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 2.9×: Alaska has the highest median at $184 and Arizona the lowest at $64, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 117% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($68.81), which ranks 169th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $30) and widest within UnitedHealthcare ($65).

This is a top-6 code for orthopedic surgery 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	$100	$75	$140	+24%	1	31,603	146% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$82	$65	$109	+2%	2	29,357	119% of Medicare
Cigna	$80	$63	$106	-1%	3	31,255	116% of Medicare
Aetna	$65	$52	$82	-20%	4	23,812	94% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($68.81)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$184	+127%	Aetna	Cigna	328
2	Wisconsin	$146	+81%	UHC	Aetna	864
3	Wyoming	$117	+45%	BCBS	Aetna	270
4	Oregon	$110	+37%	UHC	Aetna	806
5	Connecticut	$106	+31%	UHC	Aetna	932
6	South Dakota	$105	+30%	UHC	Aetna	474
7	North Dakota	$105	+30%	UHC	Aetna	369
8	Nebraska	$104	+28%	UHC	Aetna	599
9	Georgia	$103	+28%	UHC	Aetna	974
10	North Carolina	$100	+24%	UHC	Aetna	1,005
11	Washington	$99	+23%	UHC	Aetna	870
12	Iowa	$99	+23%	UHC	Aetna	712
13	Massachusetts	$97	+20%	UHC	Aetna	893
14	Minnesota	$97	+20%	UHC	Aetna	847
15	New Hampshire	$95	+18%	UHC	Aetna	730
16	Mississippi	$94	+16%	BCBS	Cigna	774
17	Vermont	$92	+14%	UHC	Aetna	336
18	Idaho	$91	+12%	Aetna	Cigna	616
19	Hawaii	$83	+3%	BCBS	Aetna	501
20	Maine	$83	+3%	UHC	Aetna	645
21	Rhode Island	$80	-1%	UHC	Aetna	631
22	Colorado	$80	-1%	UHC	Aetna	941
23	District of Columbia	$79	-2%	UHC	BCBS	520
24	New Jersey	$79	-2%	UHC	Aetna	886
25	Illinois	$79	-3%	UHC	Aetna	876
26	Ohio	$79	-3%	UHC	Aetna	927
27	New Mexico	$77	-5%	UHC	Aetna	609
28	Montana	$77	-5%	UHC	Aetna	443
29	California	$76	-6%	UHC	Aetna	842
30	Arkansas	$76	-6%	UHC	Aetna	783
31	Utah	$76	-6%	UHC	Cigna	815
32	Louisiana	$75	-7%	UHC	Aetna	906
33	Tennessee	$75	-7%	UHC	Aetna	938
34	Pennsylvania	$74	-8%	UHC	Aetna	890
35	Kentucky	$74	-8%	UHC	Aetna	976
36	Missouri	$74	-9%	UHC	Aetna	951
37	South Carolina	$73	-9%	BCBS	Aetna	852
38	New York	$72	-10%	UHC	Aetna	938
39	West Virginia	$72	-11%	UHC	Aetna	607
40	Indiana	$71	-12%	UHC	Aetna	961
41	Kansas	$70	-13%	UHC	Aetna	787
42	Virginia	$70	-14%	UHC	BCBS	898
43	Michigan	$69	-15%	UHC	Aetna	885
44	Texas	$67	-17%	UHC	Aetna	997
45	Delaware	$67	-17%	UHC	Aetna	459
46	Oklahoma	$66	-18%	UHC	Aetna	829
47	Maryland	$66	-19%	UHC	BCBS	844
48	Nevada	$65	-19%	UHC	Aetna	771
49	Florida	$64	-21%	UHC	Cigna	880
49	Alabama	$64	-21%	Aetna	BCBS	948
51	Arizona	$64	-21%	UHC	BCBS	813

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 20610?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $100 across 31,603 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $65, 55% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 117% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $68.81.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 20610?

Alaska has the highest median at $184; Arizona has the lowest at $64.

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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