CPT 77280 · professional fee

Ther rad simulaj field smpl (CPT 77280): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 77280, from their published in-network rate files.

DermatologySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$302

P10 to P90: $182 to $635

vs Medicare

112%

non-facility rate $269.55

Payer spread

1.14×

BCBS $323 vs Aetna $284

State spread

3.2×

AK $651 to FL $206

4,264 sampled providers5,481 TINs51 statesSample-based · how this is calculated

What the data shows

Generated from this code's own numbers

Blue Cross Blue Shield has the highest median for CPT 77280 in the files analyzed, at $323, 14% above Aetna ($284), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.2×: Alaska has the highest median at $651 and Florida the lowest at $206, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 112% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($269.55), which ranks 175th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $136) and widest within Blue Cross Blue Shield ($281).

This is a top-10 code for dermatology 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
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$323	$186	$467	+7%	1	3,218	120% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$306	$246	$400	+1%	2	3,645	113% of Medicare
Cigna	$304	$239	$435	+1%	3	3,524	113% of Medicare
Aetna	$284	$240	$376	-6%	4	2,240	105% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($269.55)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 50 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$651	+116%	n/a	n/a	16
2	Iowa	$597	+98%	Cigna	UHC	63
2	South Dakota	$597	+98%	Cigna	UHC	37
4	Nebraska	$531	+76%	Cigna	BCBS	48
5	North Dakota	$520	+72%	n/a	n/a	24
6	Oregon	$477	+58%	Cigna	UHC	108
7	Georgia	$467	+55%	UHC	Aetna	114
8	Idaho	$436	+44%	BCBS	UHC	46
9	Massachusetts	$435	+44%	BCBS	Aetna	116
10	New Hampshire	$410	+36%	UHC	Aetna	78
11	Utah	$398	+32%	BCBS	Aetna	113
12	Hawaii	$398	+32%	BCBS	UHC	46
13	Alabama	$387	+28%	Aetna	UHC	131
14	Wisconsin	$386	+28%	BCBS	Aetna	99
15	Washington	$369	+22%	Cigna	Aetna	106
16	Connecticut	$357	+18%	Aetna	Cigna	109
17	Montana	$354	+17%	Cigna	BCBS	43
18	New York	$354	+17%	Cigna	UHC	106
19	Maine	$341	+13%	Cigna	UHC	39
20	Minnesota	$340	+13%	BCBS	Aetna	115
21	Vermont	$337	+12%	Cigna	UHC	21
22	Rhode Island	$333	+10%	Cigna	Aetna	48
23	Colorado	$323	+7%	BCBS	Aetna	125
24	Michigan	$317	+5%	BCBS	UHC	108
25	West Virginia	$306	+1%	Cigna	UHC	31
26	Arkansas	$289	-4%	Cigna	UHC	65
27	Kansas	$284	-6%	Cigna	Aetna	71
28	Ohio	$283	-6%	Cigna	BCBS	115
29	New Jersey	$283	-6%	BCBS	UHC	99
30	Pennsylvania	$280	-7%	BCBS	Cigna	117
31	Arizona	$274	-9%	UHC	Cigna	104
32	Missouri	$272	-10%	UHC	Aetna	118
33	Mississippi	$271	-10%	Aetna	BCBS	55
34	Louisiana	$269	-11%	Aetna	Cigna	129
35	Nevada	$268	-11%	Aetna	BCBS	65
36	Illinois	$266	-12%	Cigna	BCBS	113
36	New Mexico	$266	-12%	UHC	Cigna	32
38	Tennessee	$260	-14%	Aetna	Cigna	123
39	Virginia	$259	-14%	BCBS	Cigna	119
40	North Carolina	$258	-14%	Cigna	Aetna	117
41	Delaware	$250	-17%	n/a	n/a	18
42	California	$249	-17%	UHC	BCBS	98
43	District of Columbia	$246	-19%	Aetna	BCBS	36
44	Maryland	$240	-21%	Aetna	BCBS	108
45	Kentucky	$239	-21%	UHC	BCBS	112
45	Indiana	$239	-21%	Aetna	BCBS	116
47	South Carolina	$238	-21%	BCBS	Aetna	105
48	Texas	$230	-24%	UHC	BCBS	134
49	Oklahoma	$221	-27%	UHC	BCBS	80
50	Florida	$206	-32%	Cigna	Aetna	113

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 77280?

In the files we analyzed, Blue Cross Blue Shield, at a median of $323 across 3,218 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $284, 14% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 112% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $269.55.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 77280?

Alaska has the highest median at $651; Florida has the lowest at $206.

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.

See how your contracts compare for CPT 77280

Benchmark your negotiated rates for 77280 and the rest of your book against these payer and state medians.

Request a rate benchmark