CPT 70553 · professional fee

Mri brain stem w/o & w/dye (CPT 70553): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 70553, 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

$600

P10 to P90: $336 to $1,206

vs Medicare

189%

non-facility rate $316.97

Payer spread

1.28×

Cigna $675 vs Aetna $528

State spread

2.9×

AK $1,079 to OK $376

5,785 sampled providers7,067 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 70553 in the files analyzed, at $675, 28% above Aetna ($528), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 2.9×: Alaska has the highest median at $1,079 and Oklahoma the lowest at $376, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 189% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($316.97), which ranks 49th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $289) and widest within Cigna ($520).

This is a top-6 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	$675	$466	$986	+13%	1	4,466	213% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$653	$468	$879	+9%	2	3,916	206% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$586	$404	$750	-2%	3	4,529	185% of Medicare
Aetna	$528	$411	$700	-12%	4	3,856	167% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($316.97)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$1,079	+80%	Aetna	Cigna	60
2	Wyoming	$827	+38%	BCBS	Aetna	41
3	Connecticut	$812	+35%	Cigna	Aetna	119
4	Wisconsin	$785	+31%	UHC	Cigna	118
5	North Carolina	$785	+31%	Cigna	BCBS	124
6	Washington	$756	+26%	Cigna	BCBS	117
7	Georgia	$700	+17%	Cigna	Aetna	128
8	Iowa	$691	+15%	BCBS	Aetna	100
9	South Dakota	$680	+13%	Cigna	Aetna	85
10	Maine	$678	+13%	Cigna	Aetna	127
10	Massachusetts	$678	+13%	UHC	Aetna	118
12	Colorado	$676	+13%	BCBS	Aetna	116
13	Nebraska	$670	+12%	UHC	Aetna	120
14	Ohio	$667	+11%	UHC	Aetna	127
15	New Hampshire	$666	+11%	BCBS	Aetna	127
16	North Dakota	$642	+7%	Cigna	Aetna	86
17	New Jersey	$636	+6%	Cigna	BCBS	126
18	Idaho	$628	+5%	Aetna	Cigna	125
19	Tennessee	$623	+4%	Cigna	Aetna	128
20	District of Columbia	$622	+4%	Cigna	BCBS	130
21	Indiana	$617	+3%	Cigna	Aetna	136
22	Delaware	$610	+2%	UHC	Aetna	100
23	California	$604	+1%	Cigna	Aetna	106
24	Oregon	$603	+0%	UHC	Cigna	106
25	Rhode Island	$600	+0%	Cigna	BCBS	126
26	Missouri	$593	-1%	Aetna	Cigna	124
27	Virginia	$592	-1%	Cigna	BCBS	120
27	Kansas	$592	-1%	Aetna	UHC	116
29	Mississippi	$584	-3%	BCBS	UHC	115
30	West Virginia	$579	-4%	UHC	BCBS	117
31	Pennsylvania	$568	-5%	UHC	Aetna	120
32	New Mexico	$565	-6%	Cigna	BCBS	123
33	Arizona	$560	-7%	Cigna	Aetna	113
34	Nevada	$558	-7%	UHC	Cigna	123
35	Louisiana	$550	-8%	Aetna	BCBS	122
36	Minnesota	$544	-9%	UHC	Aetna	123
37	Arkansas	$541	-10%	Aetna	BCBS	121
38	Utah	$541	-10%	UHC	Aetna	121
39	South Carolina	$533	-11%	Cigna	Aetna	113
40	Kentucky	$521	-13%	Cigna	Aetna	134
41	Vermont	$520	-13%	Cigna	Aetna	63
42	Florida	$519	-14%	Cigna	BCBS	104
43	Montana	$516	-14%	Aetna	BCBS	69
44	Maryland	$513	-14%	UHC	BCBS	106
45	Illinois	$505	-16%	UHC	BCBS	124
46	Michigan	$490	-18%	Cigna	Aetna	116
47	Alabama	$478	-20%	Aetna	BCBS	126
48	Hawaii	$468	-22%	BCBS	Cigna	105
49	New York	$453	-25%	Cigna	Aetna	128
50	Texas	$414	-31%	UHC	BCBS	133
51	Oklahoma	$376	-37%	Aetna	BCBS	110

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 70553?

In the files we analyzed, Cigna, at a median of $675 across 4,466 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $528, 28% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 189% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $316.97.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 70553?

Alaska has the highest median at $1,079; Oklahoma has the lowest at $376.

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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