CPT 73221 · professional fee

Mri joint upr extrem w/o dye (CPT 73221): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 73221, 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

$399

P10 to P90: $208 to $757

vs Medicare

194%

non-facility rate $205.08

Payer spread

1.07×

Cigna $407 vs BCBS $382

State spread

3.5×

AK $805 to OK $234

10,780 sampled providers11,414 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 73221 in the files analyzed, at $407, 7% above Blue Cross Blue Shield ($382), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.5×: Alaska has the highest median at $805 and Oklahoma the lowest at $234, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 194% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($205.08), which ranks 42nd of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $245) and widest within Cigna ($319).

This is a top-21 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	$407	$281	$600	+2%	1	8,279	198% of Medicare
Aetna	$402	$304	$549	+1%	2	6,494	196% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$402	$273	$540	+1%	3	8,198	196% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$382	$256	$502	-4%	4	8,259	186% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($205.08)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$805	+102%	Aetna	Cigna	123
2	Wyoming	$607	+52%	BCBS	Aetna	106
3	Connecticut	$600	+51%	UHC	BCBS	233
4	Georgia	$515	+29%	Cigna	Aetna	252
5	Wisconsin	$500	+26%	BCBS	Cigna	210
6	North Carolina	$499	+25%	Cigna	Aetna	239
7	Iowa	$478	+20%	BCBS	Aetna	204
8	South Dakota	$477	+20%	Cigna	Aetna	182
9	Washington	$454	+14%	Aetna	BCBS	217
10	Colorado	$452	+14%	BCBS	Aetna	211
11	California	$445	+12%	Cigna	BCBS	215
12	Mississippi	$444	+11%	BCBS	UHC	227
13	Massachusetts	$438	+10%	UHC	Aetna	220
13	New Hampshire	$438	+10%	UHC	Aetna	245
15	Oregon	$436	+9%	Aetna	Cigna	198
16	Tennessee	$434	+9%	Cigna	UHC	242
17	Nebraska	$427	+7%	Cigna	Aetna	215
18	Maine	$427	+7%	Aetna	UHC	221
19	Rhode Island	$427	+7%	Aetna	BCBS	224
20	Delaware	$425	+7%	UHC	BCBS	159
21	Virginia	$422	+6%	Cigna	BCBS	223
22	North Dakota	$420	+5%	BCBS	Aetna	132
23	New Jersey	$417	+5%	Cigna	BCBS	219
24	Indiana	$412	+3%	Cigna	Aetna	250
25	Vermont	$401	+1%	Cigna	BCBS	98
26	District of Columbia	$400	+0%	UHC	BCBS	167
27	West Virginia	$397	-0%	UHC	Aetna	203
28	Ohio	$396	-1%	BCBS	Cigna	237
29	Idaho	$387	-3%	Aetna	Cigna	245
30	Nevada	$384	-4%	Cigna	Aetna	231
31	South Carolina	$379	-5%	Cigna	Aetna	219
32	Arizona	$375	-6%	Cigna	BCBS	211
33	Louisiana	$375	-6%	Aetna	Cigna	225
34	Kansas	$375	-6%	BCBS	UHC	223
35	New York	$370	-7%	Cigna	BCBS	236
36	Utah	$370	-7%	Aetna	Cigna	217
37	Minnesota	$369	-7%	UHC	Aetna	225
38	Pennsylvania	$365	-8%	Aetna	BCBS	222
39	New Mexico	$347	-13%	Cigna	BCBS	226
40	Arkansas	$343	-14%	UHC	BCBS	240
41	Michigan	$339	-15%	Cigna	Aetna	217
41	Missouri	$339	-15%	Aetna	Cigna	236
43	Kentucky	$334	-16%	BCBS	Aetna	258
44	Maryland	$333	-16%	Aetna	BCBS	207
45	Montana	$329	-17%	Aetna	BCBS	148
46	Illinois	$320	-20%	UHC	BCBS	226
47	Florida	$305	-23%	Aetna	UHC	211
48	Hawaii	$304	-24%	BCBS	UHC	176
49	Alabama	$290	-27%	Aetna	BCBS	244
50	Texas	$238	-40%	UHC	BCBS	255
51	Oklahoma	$234	-41%	UHC	BCBS	210

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 73221?

In the files we analyzed, Cigna, at a median of $407 across 8,279 sampled providers. Blue Cross Blue Shield is lowest at $382, 7% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 194% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $205.08.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 73221?

Alaska has the highest median at $805; Oklahoma has the lowest at $234.

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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