CPT 22551 · professional fee

Arthrd ant ntrbdy cervical (CPT 22551): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 22551, 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

$2,778

P10 to P90: $1,780 to $4,902

vs Medicare

173%

non-facility rate $1,604.91

Payer spread

1.35×

UHC $3,083 vs Aetna $2,275

State spread

3.7×

AK $7,578 to HI $2,058

5,040 sampled providers6,061 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 22551 in the files analyzed, at $3,083, 35% above Aetna ($2,275), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.7×: Alaska has the highest median at $7,578 and Hawaii the lowest at $2,058, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 173% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($1,604.91), which ranks 80th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $1,054) and widest within UnitedHealthcare ($1,655).

This is a top-29 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	$3,083	$2,346	$4,002	+11%	1	4,260	192% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$2,851	$2,207	$3,682	+3%	2	3,859	178% of Medicare
Cigna	$2,830	$2,326	$3,704	+2%	3	4,016	176% of Medicare
Aetna	$2,275	$1,777	$2,831	-18%	4	2,794	142% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($1,604.91)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$7,578	+173%	Aetna	BCBS	63
2	Wisconsin	$4,363	+57%	BCBS	Aetna	100
3	Wyoming	$3,946	+42%	BCBS	UHC	65
4	South Dakota	$3,766	+36%	BCBS	Cigna	97
5	Connecticut	$3,725	+34%	UHC	Aetna	114
6	District of Columbia	$3,651	+31%	Aetna	BCBS	35
7	Iowa	$3,619	+30%	UHC	Aetna	104
8	New Jersey	$3,606	+30%	UHC	Aetna	94
9	Washington	$3,596	+29%	UHC	BCBS	100
10	Mississippi	$3,511	+26%	BCBS	Cigna	112
11	Nebraska	$3,499	+26%	Cigna	BCBS	95
12	North Dakota	$3,395	+22%	BCBS	UHC	45
13	Oregon	$3,384	+22%	UHC	Aetna	91
14	North Carolina	$3,312	+19%	UHC	Aetna	128
15	Massachusetts	$3,180	+14%	UHC	Aetna	111
16	Georgia	$3,107	+12%	UHC	Aetna	124
17	Tennessee	$3,101	+12%	Aetna	Cigna	115
18	Rhode Island	$3,018	+9%	UHC	Aetna	98
19	Illinois	$3,009	+8%	UHC	Aetna	103
20	Vermont	$2,878	+4%	UHC	BCBS	35
21	Idaho	$2,847	+2%	BCBS	UHC	120
22	Utah	$2,818	+1%	UHC	Aetna	96
23	New Hampshire	$2,788	+0%	Cigna	Aetna	118
24	Maryland	$2,772	-0%	UHC	BCBS	105
25	Colorado	$2,752	-1%	UHC	Cigna	104
26	Montana	$2,708	-3%	UHC	BCBS	79
27	New York	$2,685	-3%	Cigna	Aetna	110
28	Alabama	$2,683	-3%	BCBS	Cigna	118
29	Pennsylvania	$2,675	-4%	UHC	Aetna	102
30	West Virginia	$2,671	-4%	UHC	Aetna	88
31	Arkansas	$2,660	-4%	UHC	Aetna	119
32	South Carolina	$2,608	-6%	BCBS	Aetna	106
33	Virginia	$2,598	-6%	UHC	BCBS	105
34	New Mexico	$2,568	-8%	UHC	BCBS	104
35	Delaware	$2,541	-9%	Cigna	UHC	59
36	Arizona	$2,527	-9%	UHC	Aetna	99
37	Ohio	$2,503	-10%	UHC	Aetna	110
38	Michigan	$2,474	-11%	BCBS	Aetna	102
39	Kansas	$2,417	-13%	BCBS	Aetna	107
40	Louisiana	$2,401	-14%	BCBS	Aetna	103
41	Kentucky	$2,385	-14%	UHC	Aetna	124
42	Maine	$2,372	-15%	UHC	Aetna	93
43	Nevada	$2,339	-16%	BCBS	Aetna	109
44	Indiana	$2,294	-17%	UHC	Aetna	115
45	Missouri	$2,291	-18%	UHC	Aetna	112
46	Florida	$2,265	-18%	BCBS	Aetna	108
47	Oklahoma	$2,187	-21%	UHC	Aetna	100
48	Minnesota	$2,091	-25%	UHC	Aetna	98
49	California	$2,090	-25%	Cigna	Aetna	109
50	Texas	$2,059	-26%	UHC	Aetna	121
51	Hawaii	$2,058	-26%	BCBS	Cigna	68

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 22551?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $3,083 across 4,260 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $2,275, 35% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 173% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $1,604.91.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 22551?

Alaska has the highest median at $7,578; Hawaii has the lowest at $2,058.

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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