Blue Cross Blue Shield · Minnesota · commercial in-network

Blue Cross Blue Shield negotiated rates in Minnesota

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

Blue Cross Blue Shield in Minnesota at a glance

Across 228 procedure codes for 8 specialties
Rate index vs state market
133
33% above the Minnesota median
Rank in state
2 of 4
UHC 141 · BCBS 133 · Cigna 102 · Aetna 55
vs own national
171
BCBS's level vs its national median
Codes where highest
36%
of 228 codes
671 sampled providers645 TINs228 codesMedian 241% of Medicare · method

What the data shows

Generated from Minnesota and Blue Cross Blue Shield data only
1

Blue Cross Blue Shield ranks 2nd of 4 payers in Minnesota with a rate index of 133 (100 = the Minnesota market median), across 228 procedure codes.

2

Blue Cross Blue Shield has the highest median for only 36% of codes in Minnesota; UnitedHealthcare leads with an index of 141 in the files analyzed.

3

Blue Cross Blue Shield's Minnesota rates sit 71% above its own national level, the 3rd highest of its 51 states.

4

Largest premium over the Minnesota market: CPT 93298 (Rem interrog dev eval scrms) at 340% of market; largest discount: CPT 51798 (Us urine capacity measure) at 82%.

5

In Minnesota, BCBS rates come from 39 licensee file sets; the largest is BCBS MN (540 sampled providers).

How the four payers compare in Minnesota

Rate index: 100 = the state four-payer median for the same codes
PayerIndexRankLevelHighest onProviders
UnitedHealthcare1411
141
64%618
Blue Cross Blue Shield1332
133
36%671
Cigna1023
102
1%169
Aetna554
55
0%774

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

Codes with the largest gap to the state median

Highest above market

CodeBCBSMarketGapProv.
93298
Rem interrog dev eval scrms
$281$83+240%84
88305
Tissue exam by pathologist
$186$72+159%153
88312
Special stains group 1
$290$114+156%153
76872
Us transrectal
$491$200+145%86
88342
Imhchem/imcytchm 1st antb
$255$107+138%73
77280
Ther rad simulaj field smpl
$709$340+109%73
93297
Rem interrog dev eval icpms
$168$82+106%84
99212
Office o/p est sf 10 min
$127$62+103%659

Furthest below market

CodeBCBSMarketGapProv.
51798
Us urine capacity measure
$25$31-18%35
72141
Mri neck spine w/o dye
$334$334-0%110
43255
Egd control bleeding any
$605$605+0%79
93971
Extremity study
$171$169+1%111
74183
Mri abd w/o cntr flwd cntr
$578$568+2%110
70553
Mri brain stem w/o & w/dye
$555$544+2%110
71250
Ct thorax dx c-
$236$230+2%110
72197
Mri pelvis w/o & w/dye
$581$567+2%110

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 Minnesota

File sets contributing rates; licensees are different companies
Licensee file setSampled providers
BCBS MN540
Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Company158
Community Insurance Company100
HealthKeepers, Inc.46
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota43
Anthem (Elevance)35
Excellus BCBS35
Wellmark31
BCBS TX31
BCBS IL31
Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company28
BS CA28
Matthew Thornton Health Plan, Inc.26
Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey25
BCBS NJ (Horizon)25
Capital BlueCross21
Capital BC21
BCBS MI20
BCBS TN19
Regence18
BCBS MT16
BCBS VT15
Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation14
Carefirst BCBS13
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, Inc.13
BCBS NC13
BCBS MA9
BCBS NM6
Premera4
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming4
BCBS AL3
BCBS Kansas City3
BCBS MS3
BCBS KS2
BCBS AZ2
HMO Missouri, Inc.1
BCBS HI1
HMO Colorado, Inc.1
BCBS OK1

Frequently asked questions

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

Blue Cross Blue Shield ranks 2nd of 4 in Minnesota with an index of 133. It is highest on 36% of codes.

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

About 71% above.

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

CPT 93298 (Rem interrog dev eval scrms), at 340% of the Minnesota 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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