CPT 88312 · professional fee

Special stains group 1 (CPT 88312): negotiated rates by payer and state

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 88312, from their published in-network rate files.

Gastroenterology DermatologySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$97

P10 to P90: $45 to $220

vs Medicare

89%

non-facility rate $109.55

Payer spread

1.65×

BCBS $112 vs Cigna $68

State spread

4.6×

AK $254 to OK $55

8,662 sampled providers9,473 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 88312 in the files analyzed, at $112, 65% above Cigna ($68), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 4.6×: Alaska has the highest median at $254 and Oklahoma the lowest at $55, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 89% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($109.55), which ranks 220th of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $46) and widest within Cigna ($84).

This is a top-29 code for gastroenterology 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	$112	$41	$170	+15%	1	6,553	102% of Medicare
Aetna	$107	$86	$132	+10%	2	5,224	98% of Medicare
UnitedHealthcare	$91	$64	$118	-6%	3	7,393	83% of Medicare
Cigna	$68	$50	$134	-30%	4	6,782	62% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($109.55)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 51 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$254	+161%	BCBS	UHC	32
2	North Dakota	$196	+101%	BCBS	Aetna	44
3	Iowa	$194	+100%	Cigna	Aetna	118
4	South Dakota	$173	+77%	BCBS	UHC	62
5	Nebraska	$171	+76%	Cigna	UHC	94
6	Hawaii	$152	+56%	UHC	BCBS	91
7	Oregon	$147	+51%	BCBS	Aetna	211
8	Wyoming	$141	+45%	n/a	n/a	20
9	Washington	$136	+40%	BCBS	Cigna	202
10	Connecticut	$134	+38%	UHC	Cigna	231
11	Massachusetts	$133	+37%	BCBS	Aetna	225
12	Michigan	$131	+34%	BCBS	UHC	217
13	Wisconsin	$129	+32%	BCBS	Cigna	214
14	New Hampshire	$117	+20%	BCBS	UHC	151
15	Mississippi	$115	+19%	Aetna	UHC	147
16	Minnesota	$114	+17%	BCBS	Aetna	207
17	Maine	$109	+12%	BCBS	Aetna	93
18	Kansas	$109	+12%	BCBS	Aetna	135
19	Vermont	$108	+11%	Cigna	Aetna	44
20	Utah	$107	+10%	BCBS	Cigna	201
21	California	$107	+10%	Aetna	Cigna	204
22	Pennsylvania	$105	+7%	BCBS	Cigna	230
23	Rhode Island	$103	+6%	BCBS	Cigna	114
24	New Jersey	$101	+4%	BCBS	Aetna	212
25	Louisiana	$101	+4%	Aetna	BCBS	253
26	Georgia	$99	+2%	UHC	Cigna	237
27	Colorado	$98	+0%	Aetna	Cigna	249
28	Alabama	$97	+0%	Aetna	Cigna	246
29	Delaware	$97	-1%	Aetna	Cigna	47
30	Arkansas	$95	-2%	Aetna	BCBS	146
31	Illinois	$94	-4%	Aetna	BCBS	228
32	New York	$94	-4%	Cigna	Aetna	236
33	Missouri	$94	-4%	BCBS	Cigna	253
34	Maryland	$88	-10%	Aetna	Cigna	218
35	Idaho	$86	-12%	Aetna	UHC	98
36	Ohio	$83	-14%	UHC	BCBS	237
37	West Virginia	$83	-15%	UHC	BCBS	80
38	Kentucky	$83	-15%	Cigna	BCBS	235
39	District of Columbia	$78	-20%	Aetna	BCBS	86
40	Arizona	$71	-27%	BCBS	Cigna	201
41	New Mexico	$68	-31%	Aetna	BCBS	92
42	North Carolina	$68	-31%	Aetna	Cigna	220
43	Virginia	$67	-31%	Aetna	BCBS	236
44	Nevada	$65	-34%	Aetna	Cigna	149
45	South Carolina	$64	-34%	Aetna	Cigna	219
45	Indiana	$64	-34%	UHC	BCBS	225
45	Montana	$64	-34%	Cigna	BCBS	72
45	Tennessee	$64	-34%	Aetna	Cigna	233
49	Florida	$62	-37%	Aetna	BCBS	223
50	Texas	$61	-38%	Aetna	BCBS	266
51	Oklahoma	$55	-44%	Aetna	BCBS	178

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 88312?

In the files we analyzed, Blue Cross Blue Shield, at a median of $112 across 6,553 sampled providers. Cigna is lowest at $68, 65% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 89% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $109.55.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 88312?

Alaska has the highest median at $254; Oklahoma has the lowest at $55.

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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