CPT 70551 · professional fee

Mri brain stem w/o dye (CPT 70551): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 70551, from their published in-network rate files.

Diagnostic radiologySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$402

P10 to P90: $208 to $752

vs Medicare

206%

non-facility rate $195.40

Payer spread

1.11×

Cigna $422 vs BCBS $379

State spread

3.2×

AK $729 to OK $228

5,786 sampled providers7,068 TINs51 statesSample-based · how this is calculated

What the data shows

Generated from this code's own numbers

Cigna has the highest median for CPT 70551 in the files analyzed, at $422, 11% above Blue Cross Blue Shield ($379), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.2×: Alaska has the highest median at $729 and Oklahoma the lowest at $228, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 206% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($195.40), which ranks 29th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $237) and widest within Cigna ($323).

This is a top-11 code for diagnostic radiology 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
Cigna	$422	$286	$609	+5%	1	4,480	216% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$405	$288	$541	+1%	2	3,926	208% of Medicare
Aetna	$402	$296	$533	-0%	3	3,856	206% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$379	$252	$496	-6%	4	4,529	194% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($195.40)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$729	+81%	Aetna	Cigna	61
2	Georgia	$520	+29%	BCBS	Aetna	128
2	North Carolina	$520	+29%	Cigna	BCBS	124
4	Connecticut	$508	+26%	Cigna	BCBS	119
5	Wyoming	$505	+26%	BCBS	Cigna	41
6	Wisconsin	$501	+25%	BCBS	Cigna	118
7	Washington	$484	+20%	Aetna	BCBS	117
8	California	$475	+18%	Cigna	BCBS	106
9	Iowa	$456	+13%	BCBS	Aetna	100
10	Maine	$443	+10%	Cigna	BCBS	127
11	District of Columbia	$436	+8%	UHC	BCBS	132
12	Colorado	$431	+7%	BCBS	Aetna	116
13	Ohio	$429	+7%	BCBS	Aetna	127
14	Nebraska	$426	+6%	Cigna	Aetna	120
15	Delaware	$425	+6%	UHC	BCBS	100
15	New Hampshire	$425	+6%	BCBS	UHC	127
17	Indiana	$420	+4%	Cigna	Aetna	136
18	Tennessee	$419	+4%	Cigna	Aetna	128
19	Massachusetts	$418	+4%	UHC	Aetna	118
20	Rhode Island	$416	+3%	Aetna	BCBS	126
21	South Dakota	$415	+3%	Cigna	Aetna	85
22	Oregon	$414	+3%	Aetna	Cigna	106
23	New Jersey	$404	+0%	Cigna	BCBS	126
24	West Virginia	$402	-0%	UHC	BCBS	117
25	Idaho	$400	-0%	Aetna	Cigna	125
26	Virginia	$400	-1%	Cigna	BCBS	120
27	North Dakota	$396	-2%	Cigna	Aetna	86
28	Mississippi	$396	-2%	BCBS	UHC	115
29	Vermont	$394	-2%	Cigna	BCBS	63
30	Arizona	$390	-3%	Cigna	BCBS	113
31	Pennsylvania	$389	-3%	Aetna	BCBS	119
32	Louisiana	$386	-4%	Aetna	UHC	122
33	Kentucky	$385	-4%	BCBS	Aetna	134
34	Missouri	$379	-6%	Aetna	Cigna	124
35	South Carolina	$375	-7%	Cigna	Aetna	113
36	Nevada	$371	-8%	UHC	Aetna	123
37	Maryland	$370	-8%	UHC	BCBS	106
37	New York	$370	-8%	Cigna	BCBS	128
39	Kansas	$370	-8%	BCBS	UHC	116
40	New Mexico	$364	-9%	Cigna	BCBS	123
41	Utah	$358	-11%	Aetna	Cigna	121
42	Florida	$356	-11%	Aetna	BCBS	104
43	Minnesota	$343	-15%	UHC	Aetna	123
44	Arkansas	$340	-15%	Aetna	BCBS	121
45	Illinois	$323	-20%	UHC	BCBS	123
46	Montana	$318	-21%	Aetna	BCBS	69
47	Michigan	$302	-25%	Cigna	Aetna	116
48	Alabama	$295	-27%	Aetna	BCBS	126
49	Hawaii	$288	-28%	Aetna	UHC	105
50	Texas	$272	-32%	UHC	BCBS	133
51	Oklahoma	$228	-43%	Aetna	BCBS	110

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 70551?

In the files we analyzed, Cigna, at a median of $422 across 4,480 sampled providers. Blue Cross Blue Shield is lowest at $379, 11% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 206% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $195.40.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 70551?

Alaska has the highest median at $729; Oklahoma has the lowest at $228.

Is this a professional fee?

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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