CPT 72148 · professional fee

Mri lumbar spine w/o dye (CPT 72148): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 72148, from their published in-network rate files.

Diagnostic radiology Orthopedic surgerySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$382

P10 to P90: $196 to $748

vs Medicare

199%

non-facility rate $191.72

Payer spread

1.03×

Aetna $386 vs BCBS $374

State spread

3.6×

AK $786 to OK $221

10,780 sampled providers11,428 TINs51 statesSample-based · how this is calculated

What the data shows

Generated from this code's own numbers

Aetna has the highest median for CPT 72148 in the files analyzed, at $386, 3% above Blue Cross Blue Shield ($374), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.6×: Alaska has the highest median at $786 and Oklahoma the lowest at $221, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 199% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($191.72), which ranks 36th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $238) and widest within Cigna ($320).

This is a top-8 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
Aetna	$386	$287	$525	+1%	1	6,466	201% of Medicare
Cigna	$385	$266	$586	+1%	2	8,256	201% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$379	$260	$521	-1%	3	8,138	198% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$374	$239	$497	-2%	4	8,243	195% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($191.72)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$786	+106%	Aetna	Cigna	123
2	Wyoming	$603	+58%	BCBS	Aetna	106
3	Connecticut	$600	+57%	Cigna	BCBS	233
4	Georgia	$497	+30%	Cigna	Aetna	252
5	Wisconsin	$481	+26%	BCBS	Cigna	210
6	North Carolina	$476	+25%	Cigna	Aetna	239
7	District of Columbia	$468	+23%	Cigna	BCBS	167
8	Iowa	$447	+17%	BCBS	Aetna	204
8	South Dakota	$447	+17%	Cigna	Aetna	182
10	Washington	$429	+12%	Cigna	BCBS	217
11	New Hampshire	$425	+11%	Aetna	UHC	245
11	Delaware	$425	+11%	UHC	BCBS	159
13	Colorado	$424	+11%	BCBS	UHC	211
14	Tennessee	$421	+10%	Cigna	Aetna	242
15	California	$421	+10%	Cigna	BCBS	215
16	Mississippi	$420	+10%	BCBS	UHC	227
17	Oregon	$413	+8%	Aetna	Cigna	198
18	Vermont	$410	+7%	Cigna	BCBS	98
18	Massachusetts	$410	+7%	UHC	Aetna	220
20	Nebraska	$407	+7%	Cigna	Aetna	215
21	Virginia	$405	+6%	Aetna	BCBS	223
22	Indiana	$404	+6%	Cigna	Aetna	250
23	Rhode Island	$402	+5%	Aetna	BCBS	224
24	New Jersey	$402	+5%	Cigna	BCBS	219
25	Maine	$402	+5%	Aetna	UHC	221
26	North Dakota	$396	+4%	BCBS	Aetna	132
27	West Virginia	$385	+1%	UHC	Aetna	203
28	Ohio	$380	-1%	BCBS	Cigna	237
29	Arizona	$375	-2%	Cigna	BCBS	211
30	New York	$370	-3%	Cigna	BCBS	236
31	Pennsylvania	$367	-4%	Aetna	BCBS	222
31	Idaho	$367	-4%	Aetna	Cigna	245
33	South Carolina	$367	-4%	Cigna	Aetna	219
34	Nevada	$364	-5%	BCBS	Aetna	231
35	Kentucky	$360	-6%	BCBS	Aetna	258
36	Louisiana	$359	-6%	Aetna	Cigna	225
37	Kansas	$357	-7%	BCBS	UHC	223
38	Minnesota	$350	-8%	UHC	Aetna	225
39	Utah	$349	-9%	Aetna	Cigna	217
40	Maryland	$338	-12%	Aetna	BCBS	207
41	New Mexico	$325	-15%	Cigna	BCBS	226
42	Arkansas	$325	-15%	Aetna	BCBS	240
43	Missouri	$323	-16%	Aetna	Cigna	236
44	Montana	$310	-19%	Aetna	BCBS	148
45	Illinois	$305	-20%	UHC	BCBS	227
46	Michigan	$296	-22%	Cigna	Aetna	217
47	Florida	$289	-24%	Aetna	UHC	210
48	Alabama	$287	-25%	Aetna	BCBS	244
49	Hawaii	$280	-27%	BCBS	Cigna	176
50	Texas	$225	-41%	Aetna	BCBS	255
51	Oklahoma	$221	-42%	UHC	BCBS	210

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 72148?

In the files we analyzed, Aetna, at a median of $386 across 6,466 sampled providers. Blue Cross Blue Shield is lowest at $374, 3% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 199% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $191.72.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 72148?

Alaska has the highest median at $786; Oklahoma has the lowest at $221.

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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