CPT 71271 · professional fee

Ct thorax lung cancer scr c- (CPT 71271): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 71271, 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

$208

P10 to P90: $134 to $400

vs Medicare

152%

non-facility rate $136.28

Payer spread

1.32×

UHC $239 vs Aetna $180

State spread

3.0×

AK $417 to OK $141

5,766 sampled providers7,198 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 71271 in the files analyzed, at $239, 32% above Aetna ($180), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.0×: Alaska has the highest median at $417 and Oklahoma the lowest at $141, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 152% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($136.28), which ranks 110th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Cigna (interquartile range $129) and widest within Aetna ($120).

This is a top-31 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
UnitedHealthcare	$239	$174	$331	+15%	1	3,939	175% of Medicare
Cigna	$215	$169	$298	+3%	2	4,438	157% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$199	$148	$271	-4%	3	4,608	146% of Medicare
Aetna	$180	$155	$275	-13%	4	3,714	132% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($136.28)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$417	+101%	Aetna	Cigna	61
2	Washington	$304	+46%	Cigna	BCBS	117
3	Wisconsin	$288	+38%	UHC	Cigna	118
4	South Dakota	$286	+37%	Cigna	Aetna	85
5	North Carolina	$276	+33%	Cigna	BCBS	121
6	Wyoming	$276	+33%	BCBS	Aetna	41
7	Georgia	$275	+32%	UHC	BCBS	128
8	Iowa	$266	+28%	Cigna	Aetna	100
8	Nebraska	$266	+28%	Cigna	Aetna	119
10	North Dakota	$263	+26%	BCBS	Aetna	86
11	New Hampshire	$254	+22%	UHC	Aetna	128
12	Colorado	$250	+20%	UHC	Cigna	116
13	Oregon	$249	+20%	Aetna	Cigna	106
14	Tennessee	$247	+19%	Aetna	BCBS	127
15	Connecticut	$243	+17%	BCBS	Aetna	122
16	South Carolina	$243	+17%	Aetna	BCBS	113
17	Rhode Island	$236	+13%	Cigna	Aetna	126
18	Idaho	$230	+11%	Aetna	Cigna	124
19	Ohio	$230	+11%	UHC	BCBS	127
20	Mississippi	$229	+10%	Aetna	UHC	112
21	West Virginia	$227	+9%	UHC	BCBS	117
22	Montana	$222	+7%	Aetna	UHC	69
23	Massachusetts	$218	+5%	UHC	Aetna	120
24	Vermont	$210	+1%	UHC	BCBS	63
25	New Jersey	$208	+0%	UHC	Aetna	125
26	Missouri	$205	-1%	UHC	Aetna	123
27	Virginia	$205	-1%	UHC	Aetna	117
28	Michigan	$202	-3%	Cigna	Aetna	116
29	Kansas	$202	-3%	BCBS	Aetna	116
30	Hawaii	$201	-3%	UHC	BCBS	105
31	Florida	$200	-4%	Cigna	BCBS	104
32	Arkansas	$199	-5%	UHC	BCBS	118
33	Pennsylvania	$196	-6%	UHC	Aetna	119
34	Utah	$194	-7%	UHC	Aetna	121
35	Maine	$193	-7%	UHC	Cigna	127
36	Minnesota	$192	-7%	UHC	Aetna	123
37	District of Columbia	$190	-9%	UHC	BCBS	130
38	Delaware	$189	-9%	UHC	Aetna	98
39	Louisiana	$186	-11%	Cigna	BCBS	120
40	California	$184	-11%	UHC	Aetna	105
41	New Mexico	$184	-12%	UHC	BCBS	123
42	Arizona	$180	-13%	Cigna	BCBS	112
43	New York	$179	-14%	Cigna	Aetna	129
44	Maryland	$176	-15%	UHC	Aetna	106
45	Nevada	$174	-16%	UHC	BCBS	123
46	Illinois	$172	-17%	UHC	BCBS	123
47	Alabama	$162	-22%	Aetna	BCBS	126
48	Indiana	$162	-22%	UHC	BCBS	135
49	Texas	$162	-22%	UHC	BCBS	133
50	Kentucky	$158	-24%	Cigna	BCBS	133
51	Oklahoma	$141	-32%	UHC	BCBS	110

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 71271?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $239 across 3,939 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $180, 32% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 152% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $136.28.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 71271?

Alaska has the highest median at $417; Oklahoma has the lowest at $141.

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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