CPT 29848 · professional fee

Wrist endoscopy/surgery (CPT 29848): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 29848, 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

$817

P10 to P90: $523 to $1,440

vs Medicare

168%

non-facility rate $485.65

Payer spread

1.34×

UHC $888 vs Aetna $663

State spread

3.8×

AK $2,268 to IN $595

5,047 sampled providers6,112 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 29848 in the files analyzed, at $888, 34% above Aetna ($663), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.8×: Alaska has the highest median at $2,268 and Indiana the lowest at $595, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 168% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($485.65), which ranks 82nd of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $339) and widest within UnitedHealthcare ($515).

This is a top-36 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	$888	$675	$1,191	+9%	1	4,263	183% of Medicare
Cigna	$824	$664	$1,114	+1%	2	4,048	170% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$817	$627	$1,067	+0%	3	3,943	168% of Medicare
Aetna	$663	$524	$863	-19%	4	2,576	136% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($485.65)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$2,268	+178%	Aetna	BCBS	63
2	Wisconsin	$1,351	+65%	BCBS	Aetna	100
3	Wyoming	$1,201	+47%	BCBS	UHC	65
4	South Dakota	$1,161	+42%	UHC	BCBS	97
5	District of Columbia	$1,124	+38%	Aetna	BCBS	35
6	Washington	$1,119	+37%	UHC	BCBS	101
7	Connecticut	$1,097	+34%	UHC	Aetna	114
8	North Dakota	$1,040	+27%	BCBS	Aetna	46
9	Iowa	$1,037	+27%	UHC	Aetna	104
10	Nebraska	$1,033	+27%	Cigna	BCBS	95
11	New Jersey	$1,006	+23%	UHC	Aetna	95
12	Massachusetts	$1,004	+23%	UHC	Aetna	111
13	Oregon	$999	+22%	Cigna	Aetna	90
14	North Carolina	$982	+20%	Cigna	Aetna	128
15	Mississippi	$938	+15%	Aetna	Cigna	112
16	Rhode Island	$915	+12%	UHC	Aetna	98
17	Georgia	$913	+12%	UHC	BCBS	124
18	Tennessee	$910	+11%	Aetna	Cigna	115
19	Minnesota	$905	+11%	UHC	Aetna	102
20	Idaho	$863	+6%	BCBS	UHC	120
21	Illinois	$863	+6%	UHC	BCBS	103
22	Vermont	$857	+5%	UHC	BCBS	35
23	Maryland	$856	+5%	Cigna	BCBS	105
24	Colorado	$847	+4%	UHC	Aetna	105
25	Montana	$824	+1%	UHC	BCBS	79
26	Arkansas	$806	-1%	Cigna	Aetna	118
27	New Hampshire	$792	-3%	Cigna	Aetna	118
28	New Mexico	$775	-5%	UHC	BCBS	105
29	Virginia	$762	-7%	UHC	BCBS	105
30	Delaware	$760	-7%	Cigna	UHC	59
31	Pennsylvania	$740	-9%	UHC	Aetna	103
32	South Carolina	$734	-10%	UHC	Aetna	106
33	Michigan	$733	-10%	BCBS	UHC	102
34	New York	$733	-10%	Cigna	Aetna	111
35	Nevada	$731	-10%	BCBS	Aetna	108
36	Alabama	$728	-11%	Aetna	Cigna	118
37	Utah	$724	-11%	UHC	Cigna	97
38	Louisiana	$720	-12%	UHC	Aetna	103
39	Maine	$720	-12%	UHC	Aetna	93
40	Kansas	$714	-13%	BCBS	Aetna	108
41	Arizona	$709	-13%	UHC	Aetna	99
42	West Virginia	$708	-13%	Cigna	Aetna	88
43	Kentucky	$699	-14%	Cigna	Aetna	124
44	Missouri	$698	-15%	UHC	Aetna	112
44	Ohio	$698	-15%	UHC	BCBS	110
46	Hawaii	$669	-18%	BCBS	Cigna	67
47	Florida	$636	-22%	BCBS	Aetna	108
48	Oklahoma	$619	-24%	Cigna	Aetna	100
49	Texas	$615	-25%	UHC	Aetna	121
50	California	$596	-27%	Cigna	Aetna	107
51	Indiana	$595	-27%	UHC	Aetna	115

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 29848?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $888 across 4,263 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $663, 34% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 168% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $485.65.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 29848?

Alaska has the highest median at $2,268; Indiana has the lowest at $595.

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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