CPT 51720 · professional fee

Treatment of bladder lesion (CPT 51720): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 51720, from their published in-network rate files.

UrologySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$111

P10 to P90: $55 to $214

vs Medicare

292%

facility rate $38.08

Payer spread

2.06×

UHC $154 vs Aetna $75

State spread

3.7×

AK $210 to MI $56

4,211 sampled providers4,811 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 51720 in the files analyzed, at $154, 106% above Aetna ($75), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.7×: Alaska has the highest median at $210 and Michigan the lowest at $56, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 292% of the Medicare facility rate ($38.08), which ranks 3rd of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within UnitedHealthcare (interquartile range $77) and widest within Blue Cross Blue Shield ($69).

This is a top-36 code for urology by Medicare allowed dollars, so it carries real revenue weight for that specialty.

The Medicare comparison uses the facility rate: the non-facility rate ($91.85) is 2.4× higher because it includes device or supply cost that professional-fee contracts do not.

Rates by payer

Median of per-provider median rates, with interquartile range

Payer	Median	P25	P75	vs national	Rank	Providers	Position
UnitedHealthcare	$154	$121	$198	+38%	1	3,532	405% of Medicare
Cigna	$103	$77	$140	-7%	2	3,332	272% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$96	$71	$140	-13%	3	3,309	253% of Medicare
Aetna	$75	$56	$107	-33%	4	2,437	197% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare facility ($38.08)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 50 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$210	+88%	n/a	n/a	22
2	Wisconsin	$167	+50%	UHC	Aetna	102
3	North Carolina	$166	+50%	BCBS	Aetna	123
4	Connecticut	$141	+27%	UHC	Cigna	116
5	Ohio	$134	+20%	UHC	Aetna	110
6	Georgia	$132	+19%	UHC	Aetna	118
7	California	$129	+16%	UHC	Aetna	95
8	Minnesota	$127	+14%	UHC	Aetna	111
9	Utah	$127	+14%	UHC	BCBS	76
10	New Hampshire	$123	+10%	UHC	BCBS	51
11	West Virginia	$122	+10%	UHC	Aetna	49
12	Mississippi	$122	+9%	BCBS	Aetna	67
13	Oregon	$122	+9%	UHC	Aetna	103
13	Washington	$122	+9%	UHC	Aetna	111
15	District of Columbia	$121	+9%	UHC	BCBS	46
16	Nebraska	$118	+6%	UHC	BCBS	50
17	Kentucky	$118	+6%	UHC	Aetna	116
18	New Jersey	$117	+5%	UHC	BCBS	106
19	Vermont	$117	+5%	Cigna	BCBS	30
20	Hawaii	$116	+4%	Cigna	UHC	28
21	North Dakota	$115	+4%	n/a	n/a	20
22	Massachusetts	$113	+2%	UHC	BCBS	112
23	South Carolina	$112	+1%	BCBS	Aetna	100
24	Rhode Island	$111	-0%	UHC	BCBS	40
25	Tennessee	$108	-3%	UHC	Aetna	108
26	Kansas	$104	-6%	UHC	Aetna	93
27	Virginia	$104	-6%	UHC	BCBS	104
28	Arkansas	$104	-6%	UHC	Aetna	66
29	New York	$104	-7%	UHC	BCBS	114
30	South Dakota	$103	-7%	UHC	BCBS	33
31	Pennsylvania	$103	-7%	UHC	Cigna	107
32	Nevada	$102	-8%	UHC	Aetna	57
33	Missouri	$101	-9%	UHC	Aetna	119
34	New Mexico	$101	-9%	UHC	BCBS	33
35	Florida	$95	-14%	UHC	Aetna	112
36	Iowa	$95	-14%	UHC	Aetna	83
37	Arizona	$91	-19%	UHC	BCBS	99
38	Colorado	$90	-19%	UHC	Aetna	113
39	Illinois	$87	-22%	UHC	Aetna	107
40	Alabama	$86	-23%	UHC	BCBS	116
41	Louisiana	$86	-23%	UHC	BCBS	102
42	Delaware	$85	-24%	UHC	Aetna	29
43	Maine	$84	-24%	UHC	Aetna	48
44	Idaho	$84	-24%	UHC	BCBS	45
45	Maryland	$83	-25%	UHC	BCBS	103
46	Texas	$83	-26%	UHC	Aetna	124
47	Indiana	$83	-26%	UHC	Aetna	124
48	Oklahoma	$80	-28%	UHC	Aetna	108
49	Montana	$68	-39%	UHC	BCBS	39
50	Michigan	$56	-50%	UHC	BCBS	111

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 51720?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $154 across 3,532 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $75, 106% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 292% of the 2026 Medicare facility rate of $38.08.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 51720?

Alaska has the highest median at $210; Michigan has the lowest at $56.

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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