CPT 29827 · professional fee

Sho arthrs srg rt8tr cuf rpr (CPT 29827): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 29827, 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

$1,701

P10 to P90: $1,101 to $3,016

vs Medicare

174%

non-facility rate $976.31

Payer spread

1.34×

UHC $1,896 vs Aetna $1,415

State spread

3.8×

AK $4,756 to CA $1,240

5,058 sampled providers6,158 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 29827 in the files analyzed, at $1,896, 34% above Aetna ($1,415), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.8×: Alaska has the highest median at $4,756 and California the lowest at $1,240, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 174% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($976.31), which ranks 77th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $658) and widest within UnitedHealthcare ($1,058).

This is a top-11 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	$1,896	$1,449	$2,507	+11%	1	4,263	194% of Medicare
Cigna	$1,755	$1,411	$2,306	+3%	2	4,029	180% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$1,701	$1,347	$2,180	+0%	3	3,939	174% of Medicare
Aetna	$1,415	$1,114	$1,771	-17%	4	3,131	145% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($976.31)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$4,756	+180%	Aetna	BCBS	65
2	Wisconsin	$2,589	+52%	BCBS	Aetna	97
3	Wyoming	$2,472	+45%	BCBS	UHC	65
4	South Dakota	$2,412	+42%	UHC	BCBS	97
5	Connecticut	$2,312	+36%	UHC	Aetna	114
6	District of Columbia	$2,291	+35%	Aetna	BCBS	35
7	Washington	$2,280	+34%	UHC	Aetna	101
8	Iowa	$2,247	+32%	Cigna	Aetna	104
9	New Jersey	$2,246	+32%	UHC	Aetna	95
10	Nebraska	$2,144	+26%	Cigna	BCBS	95
11	North Dakota	$2,100	+23%	BCBS	Aetna	45
12	Oregon	$2,078	+22%	UHC	Aetna	92
13	Massachusetts	$2,038	+20%	UHC	Aetna	111
14	Georgia	$1,961	+15%	UHC	BCBS	124
15	Tennessee	$1,912	+12%	UHC	Aetna	115
16	Rhode Island	$1,902	+12%	UHC	Aetna	98
17	Mississippi	$1,890	+11%	Aetna	Cigna	112
18	North Carolina	$1,888	+11%	Cigna	Aetna	128
19	Minnesota	$1,865	+10%	UHC	Aetna	102
20	Vermont	$1,819	+7%	UHC	BCBS	35
21	Idaho	$1,807	+6%	Aetna	UHC	120
22	Illinois	$1,778	+5%	UHC	Aetna	104
23	Colorado	$1,745	+3%	UHC	Aetna	106
24	Maryland	$1,736	+2%	Cigna	BCBS	106
25	Montana	$1,696	-0%	UHC	BCBS	79
26	Arkansas	$1,677	-1%	Cigna	Aetna	119
27	New Hampshire	$1,669	-2%	Cigna	Aetna	118
27	Alabama	$1,669	-2%	Aetna	Cigna	118
29	South Carolina	$1,648	-3%	BCBS	Aetna	106
30	Pennsylvania	$1,625	-4%	UHC	Aetna	103
31	Kansas	$1,621	-5%	Cigna	Aetna	108
32	New Mexico	$1,609	-5%	UHC	BCBS	104
33	New York	$1,592	-6%	Cigna	Aetna	111
34	Virginia	$1,581	-7%	UHC	BCBS	105
35	West Virginia	$1,534	-10%	UHC	Aetna	89
36	Delaware	$1,530	-10%	Cigna	UHC	59
37	Utah	$1,528	-10%	UHC	BCBS	97
38	Michigan	$1,493	-12%	BCBS	UHC	103
39	Maine	$1,492	-12%	UHC	Aetna	93
40	Ohio	$1,481	-13%	UHC	Aetna	110
41	Arizona	$1,478	-13%	UHC	Aetna	99
42	Kentucky	$1,477	-13%	UHC	Aetna	124
43	Louisiana	$1,471	-14%	BCBS	Aetna	103
43	Nevada	$1,471	-14%	BCBS	Aetna	109
45	Missouri	$1,467	-14%	UHC	Aetna	112
46	Hawaii	$1,343	-21%	BCBS	UHC	69
47	Indiana	$1,339	-21%	UHC	Aetna	115
48	Florida	$1,329	-22%	BCBS	Aetna	108
49	Oklahoma	$1,285	-24%	UHC	Aetna	100
50	Texas	$1,259	-26%	UHC	Aetna	122
51	California	$1,240	-27%	Cigna	Aetna	109

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 29827?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $1,896 across 4,263 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $1,415, 34% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 174% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $976.31.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 29827?

Alaska has the highest median at $4,756; California has the lowest at $1,240.

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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