Blue Cross Blue Shield · Alaska · commercial in-network

Blue Cross Blue Shield negotiated rates in Alaska

How Blue Cross Blue Shield's Alaska rates compare with the other three national payers, across the procedures that matter most to high-revenue specialties.

Blue Cross Blue Shield in Alaska at a glance

Across 228 procedure codes for 8 specialties
Rate index vs state market
100
0% above the Alaska median
Rank in state
3 of 4
Aetna 121 · UHC 114 · BCBS 100 · Cigna 64
vs own national
243
BCBS's level vs its national median
Codes where highest
21%
of 228 codes
290 sampled providers351 TINs228 codesMedian 388% of Medicare · method

What the data shows

Generated from Alaska and Blue Cross Blue Shield data only
1

Blue Cross Blue Shield ranks 3rd of 4 payers in Alaska with a rate index of 100 (100 = the Alaska market median), across 228 procedure codes.

2

Blue Cross Blue Shield has the highest median for only 21% of codes in Alaska; Aetna leads with an index of 121 in the files analyzed.

3

Blue Cross Blue Shield's Alaska rates sit 143% above its own national level, the 1st highest of its 51 states.

4

Largest premium over the Alaska market: CPT 93298 (Rem interrog dev eval scrms) at 231% of market; largest discount: CPT 20550 (Njx 1 tendon sheath/ligament) at 67%.

5

In Alaska, BCBS rates come from 31 licensee file sets; the largest is Premera (255 sampled providers).

How the four payers compare in Alaska

Rate index: 100 = the state four-payer median for the same codes
PayerIndexRankLevelHighest onProviders
Aetna1211
121
58%211
UnitedHealthcare1142
114
26%164
Blue Cross Blue Shield1003
100
21%290
Cigna644
64
0%57

Where Blue Cross Blue Shield pays most and least against the Alaska market

Codes with the largest gap to the state median

Highest above market

CodeBCBSMarketGapProv.
93298
Rem interrog dev eval scrms
$386$167+131%25
92235
Fluorescein angrph mltiframe
$657$340+93%22
92242
Fluorescein&icg angiography
$1,138$648+76%22
90960
Esrd srv 4 visits p mo 20+
$1,395$800+74%84
88313
Special stains group 2
$304$179+70%15
88312
Special stains group 1
$424$254+67%30
88305
Tissue exam by pathologist
$290$180+61%30
92273
Full field erg w/i&r
$510$323+58%22

Furthest below market

CodeBCBSMarketGapProv.
20550
Njx 1 tendon sheath/ligament
$158$235-33%62
72131
Ct lumbar spine w/o dye
$329$469-30%44
20611
Drain/inj joint/bursa w/us
$238$336-29%62
72197
Mri pelvis w/o & w/dye
$848$1,197-29%44
74183
Mri abd w/o cntr flwd cntr
$807$1,114-28%44
71271
Ct thorax lung cancer scr c-
$310$417-26%44
26055
Incise finger tendon sheath
$1,212$1,623-25%62
72158
Mri lumbar spine w/o & w/dye
$802$1,066-25%44

Where Blue Cross Blue Shield pays above and below its national level

Index vs the payer's own national median (100 = national)

Highest states

StateIndexProv.
Alaska243
290
Wisconsin192
733
Minnesota171
671
North Dakota148
329
Wyoming145
256

Lowest states

StateIndexProv.
Maryland63
758
Arizona66
479
Texas69
1,003
District of Columbia69
484
New Mexico74
562

Blue Cross Blue Shield licensees in Alaska

File sets contributing rates; licensees are different companies
Licensee file setSampled providers
Premera255
Community Insurance Company23
Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Company14
Regence12
BCBS NC7
BCBS TX6
HealthKeepers, Inc.5
BCBS MT5
BCBS MI5
BS CA4
Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company4
BCBS IL3
BCBS MN3
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, Inc.3
Carefirst BCBS3
Matthew Thornton Health Plan, Inc.3
BCBS TN3
Capital BlueCross2
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota2
Excellus BCBS2
BCBS NJ (Horizon)2
Wellmark2
Capital BC2
BCBS MA2
Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey2
BCBS OK2
BCBS NM2
BCBS RI1
Anthem (Elevance)1
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska1
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming1

Frequently asked questions

Does Blue Cross Blue Shield pay more or less than the other payers in Alaska?

Blue Cross Blue Shield ranks 3rd of 4 in Alaska with an index of 100. It is highest on 21% of codes.

Are Blue Cross Blue Shield's Alaska rates above or below its national level?

About 143% above.

Which procedure does Blue Cross Blue Shield pay most above market in Alaska?

CPT 93298 (Rem interrog dev eval scrms), at 231% of the Alaska median.

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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