CPT 72131 · professional fee

Ct lumbar spine w/o dye (CPT 72131): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 72131, 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

$248

P10 to P90: $135 to $456

vs Medicare

191%

non-facility rate $129.93

Payer spread

1.23×

Cigna $273 vs Aetna $222

State spread

3.0×

AK $469 to OK $158

5,780 sampled providers7,023 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 72131 in the files analyzed, at $273, 23% above Aetna ($222), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.0×: Alaska has the highest median at $469 and Oklahoma the lowest at $158, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 191% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($129.93), which ranks 45th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $117) and widest within Cigna ($180).

This is a top-36 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	$273	$190	$370	+10%	1	4,505	210% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$262	$195	$356	+6%	2	3,957	202% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$238	$165	$316	-4%	3	4,525	183% of Medicare
Aetna	$222	$163	$281	-11%	4	3,832	171% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($129.93)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$469	+89%	Aetna	Cigna	61
2	North Carolina	$345	+39%	Cigna	BCBS	124
3	Georgia	$336	+35%	Cigna	Aetna	128
4	Wisconsin	$312	+26%	UHC	Cigna	114
5	Washington	$305	+23%	Aetna	BCBS	117
6	Wyoming	$296	+19%	BCBS	Aetna	41
7	Connecticut	$296	+19%	Cigna	Aetna	119
8	Ohio	$286	+15%	BCBS	Aetna	127
9	South Dakota	$280	+13%	Cigna	Aetna	85
10	Tennessee	$279	+13%	Cigna	UHC	128
11	New Hampshire	$278	+12%	UHC	Aetna	127
11	Massachusetts	$278	+12%	UHC	Aetna	118
13	Mississippi	$276	+11%	BCBS	UHC	115
14	Colorado	$275	+11%	BCBS	Aetna	116
14	South Carolina	$275	+11%	Cigna	UHC	113
16	California	$269	+8%	UHC	BCBS	106
17	Idaho	$268	+8%	Aetna	Cigna	125
18	Oregon	$266	+7%	Aetna	Cigna	106
19	Rhode Island	$266	+7%	Cigna	BCBS	126
20	Nebraska	$266	+7%	Cigna	Aetna	120
21	North Dakota	$263	+6%	Cigna	Aetna	86
22	West Virginia	$257	+4%	UHC	BCBS	117
23	New Jersey	$254	+2%	Cigna	BCBS	126
24	Iowa	$253	+2%	Cigna	Aetna	100
25	Louisiana	$253	+2%	Aetna	UHC	122
26	Delaware	$244	-1%	UHC	Aetna	98
27	Indiana	$243	-2%	Cigna	Aetna	136
28	Vermont	$242	-2%	Cigna	Aetna	63
29	Virginia	$241	-3%	Cigna	BCBS	120
30	Florida	$239	-4%	Cigna	BCBS	104
31	Kentucky	$236	-5%	Cigna	Aetna	134
32	Utah	$235	-5%	Aetna	BCBS	121
33	Missouri	$234	-6%	BCBS	Aetna	124
34	Minnesota	$227	-8%	UHC	Aetna	123
35	Pennsylvania	$226	-9%	UHC	Aetna	119
36	Kansas	$225	-9%	BCBS	Aetna	116
37	District of Columbia	$222	-11%	UHC	BCBS	132
38	Arkansas	$221	-11%	UHC	BCBS	121
39	Nevada	$221	-11%	UHC	Aetna	123
40	Maine	$220	-11%	UHC	Cigna	127
41	Arizona	$218	-12%	Cigna	Aetna	113
42	New Mexico	$211	-15%	Cigna	BCBS	123
43	Montana	$209	-16%	Aetna	BCBS	69
44	Michigan	$203	-18%	Cigna	Aetna	116
45	Maryland	$203	-18%	UHC	BCBS	106
46	Illinois	$200	-19%	UHC	BCBS	124
47	New York	$193	-22%	Cigna	Aetna	128
48	Hawaii	$190	-23%	Aetna	UHC	104
49	Alabama	$187	-25%	UHC	BCBS	126
50	Texas	$177	-28%	UHC	BCBS	133
51	Oklahoma	$158	-36%	UHC	BCBS	110

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 72131?

In the files we analyzed, Cigna, at a median of $273 across 4,505 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $222, 23% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 191% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $129.93.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 72131?

Alaska has the highest median at $469; Oklahoma has the lowest at $158.

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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