CPT 72100 · professional fee

X-ray exam l-s spine 2/3 vws (CPT 72100): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 72100, from their published in-network rate files.

Orthopedic surgerySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$53

P10 to P90: $34 to $95

vs Medicare

131%

non-facility rate $40.42

Payer spread

1.27×

Cigna $58 vs Aetna $45

State spread

5.0×

AK $156 to FL $32

5,031 sampled providers5,817 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 72100 in the files analyzed, at $58, 27% above Aetna ($45), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 5.0×: Alaska has the highest median at $156 and Florida the lowest at $32, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 131% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($40.42), which ranks 151st of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $21) and widest within Blue Cross Blue Shield ($37).

This is a top-26 code for orthopedic surgery 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	$58	$42	$74	+8%	1	4,034	142% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$57	$40	$76	+7%	2	3,710	141% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$51	$39	$72	-4%	3	4,263	127% of Medicare
Aetna	$45	$40	$61	-15%	4	3,207	112% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($40.42)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$156	+194%	UHC	Aetna	63
2	Wyoming	$102	+92%	BCBS	Cigna	65
3	Nebraska	$79	+49%	Cigna	BCBS	95
4	South Dakota	$78	+47%	BCBS	UHC	97
4	North Dakota	$78	+47%	BCBS	Aetna	46
6	Wisconsin	$77	+45%	BCBS	Aetna	100
7	Washington	$74	+40%	BCBS	Aetna	100
8	Oregon	$71	+34%	Cigna	UHC	94
9	Iowa	$71	+34%	Cigna	Aetna	104
10	Minnesota	$67	+27%	BCBS	Aetna	102
11	Colorado	$62	+16%	UHC	Cigna	106
12	Idaho	$61	+16%	BCBS	UHC	120
13	District of Columbia	$61	+15%	Aetna	BCBS	35
14	Georgia	$60	+12%	Cigna	BCBS	123
15	New Hampshire	$58	+10%	Cigna	Aetna	118
16	Utah	$58	+9%	BCBS	Aetna	96
17	Hawaii	$58	+9%	UHC	BCBS	69
18	New Jersey	$58	+9%	BCBS	UHC	95
19	Mississippi	$57	+7%	Aetna	UHC	112
20	Connecticut	$57	+7%	UHC	Aetna	114
21	North Carolina	$56	+6%	Cigna	Aetna	115
22	Massachusetts	$56	+5%	Cigna	Aetna	102
23	Tennessee	$54	+1%	BCBS	Aetna	115
24	Illinois	$53	+0%	UHC	BCBS	104
25	Pennsylvania	$52	-3%	BCBS	Aetna	103
26	Delaware	$52	-3%	BCBS	Cigna	59
27	Vermont	$52	-3%	UHC	BCBS	35
28	Maryland	$51	-4%	Aetna	BCBS	105
29	West Virginia	$50	-5%	UHC	BCBS	86
29	Alabama	$50	-5%	BCBS	Cigna	118
31	California	$50	-6%	Cigna	Aetna	108
32	Rhode Island	$50	-6%	UHC	Aetna	98
33	Maine	$49	-7%	BCBS	Aetna	94
34	South Carolina	$49	-7%	UHC	Aetna	106
35	Kansas	$49	-7%	Cigna	UHC	108
36	Ohio	$49	-8%	Aetna	UHC	110
37	Virginia	$48	-9%	Cigna	UHC	104
38	Michigan	$48	-10%	BCBS	UHC	102
39	New York	$47	-11%	Cigna	BCBS	111
40	Arkansas	$47	-11%	UHC	Aetna	119
41	Montana	$46	-13%	Cigna	BCBS	79
42	Nevada	$44	-16%	BCBS	Cigna	109
43	Kentucky	$44	-16%	Cigna	UHC	124
44	Missouri	$44	-17%	BCBS	Cigna	112
45	Arizona	$44	-17%	Cigna	BCBS	99
46	Louisiana	$42	-20%	Aetna	Cigna	103
47	Indiana	$41	-22%	Cigna	BCBS	115
48	New Mexico	$41	-23%	Cigna	BCBS	104
49	Texas	$35	-35%	UHC	BCBS	122
50	Oklahoma	$34	-37%	UHC	BCBS	100
51	Florida	$32	-41%	BCBS	Cigna	108

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 72100?

In the files we analyzed, Cigna, at a median of $58 across 4,034 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $45, 27% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 131% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $40.42.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 72100?

Alaska has the highest median at $156; Florida has the lowest at $32.

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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