CPT 71260 · professional fee

Ct thorax dx c+ (CPT 71260): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 71260, 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

$312

P10 to P90: $174 to $573

vs Medicare

187%

non-facility rate $166.67

Payer spread

1.23×

Cigna $338 vs Aetna $275

State spread

3.0×

AK $598 to OK $203

5,786 sampled providers6,990 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 71260 in the files analyzed, at $338, 23% above Aetna ($275), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.0×: Alaska has the highest median at $598 and Oklahoma the lowest at $203, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 187% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($166.67), which ranks 55th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $147) and widest within Cigna ($209).

This is a top-9 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	$338	$244	$453	+8%	1	4,501	203% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$331	$246	$444	+6%	2	3,957	199% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$306	$215	$378	-2%	3	4,526	184% of Medicare
Aetna	$275	$210	$357	-12%	4	3,869	165% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($166.67)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$598	+92%	Aetna	Cigna	61
2	North Carolina	$419	+34%	Cigna	BCBS	124
3	Wisconsin	$411	+32%	UHC	Cigna	118
4	Connecticut	$407	+30%	Cigna	Aetna	119
5	Georgia	$400	+28%	Cigna	Aetna	128
6	Washington	$396	+27%	Cigna	BCBS	117
7	South Dakota	$362	+16%	Cigna	Aetna	85
8	Wyoming	$360	+16%	BCBS	Aetna	41
9	New Hampshire	$356	+14%	UHC	Aetna	127
10	Massachusetts	$355	+14%	UHC	Aetna	118
11	Colorado	$350	+12%	BCBS	Aetna	116
12	Ohio	$344	+10%	BCBS	Aetna	127
13	Rhode Island	$342	+10%	Cigna	BCBS	126
14	Oregon	$342	+10%	Aetna	Cigna	106
15	Nebraska	$340	+9%	Cigna	Aetna	120
16	North Dakota	$338	+8%	BCBS	Aetna	86
17	California	$337	+8%	UHC	BCBS	107
18	Idaho	$336	+8%	Aetna	Cigna	125
19	Mississippi	$336	+8%	BCBS	UHC	115
20	New Jersey	$329	+5%	Cigna	BCBS	126
21	Tennessee	$325	+4%	Cigna	Aetna	128
22	Iowa	$325	+4%	Cigna	Aetna	102
23	Delaware	$315	+1%	UHC	Aetna	98
24	Indiana	$312	+0%	BCBS	Aetna	136
25	District of Columbia	$312	+0%	UHC	BCBS	130
26	Virginia	$312	-0%	Cigna	BCBS	120
27	Missouri	$310	-1%	BCBS	Cigna	124
28	West Virginia	$306	-2%	UHC	BCBS	117
29	Utah	$304	-3%	Aetna	BCBS	121
30	Louisiana	$300	-4%	Aetna	UHC	122
31	Vermont	$298	-4%	Cigna	Aetna	63
32	Pennsylvania	$295	-5%	BCBS	Aetna	119
33	Florida	$291	-7%	Cigna	BCBS	104
34	Maine	$290	-7%	UHC	Cigna	127
35	Kansas	$289	-7%	BCBS	Aetna	116
36	Kentucky	$283	-9%	Cigna	Aetna	134
37	Minnesota	$283	-9%	UHC	Aetna	122
37	South Carolina	$283	-9%	Cigna	Aetna	113
39	Nevada	$279	-11%	UHC	Aetna	123
40	Arkansas	$274	-12%	UHC	BCBS	121
41	New Mexico	$271	-13%	Cigna	BCBS	123
42	Montana	$270	-13%	Aetna	BCBS	69
43	Arizona	$263	-16%	Cigna	Aetna	114
44	Michigan	$261	-16%	Cigna	Aetna	116
45	Illinois	$260	-17%	UHC	BCBS	124
46	Maryland	$253	-19%	UHC	BCBS	106
47	New York	$247	-21%	Cigna	BCBS	128
48	Hawaii	$246	-21%	BCBS	Cigna	105
49	Alabama	$239	-23%	UHC	BCBS	126
50	Texas	$225	-28%	UHC	BCBS	133
51	Oklahoma	$203	-35%	UHC	BCBS	110

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 71260?

In the files we analyzed, Cigna, at a median of $338 across 4,501 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $275, 23% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 187% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $166.67.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 71260?

Alaska has the highest median at $598; Oklahoma has the lowest at $203.

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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