Orthopedic surgery · Alaska

Orthopedic surgery commercial reimbursement in Alaska

How Alaska orthopedic surgery rates compare with the national market.

Orthopedic surgery in Alaska

39 codes · 65 sampled providers
Index vs national
277
177% above
Rank among states
1 of 51
1 = highest
Codes above national
39 of 39
median code at 277%
Providers
65
sampled

What the data shows

1

Orthopedic surgery ranks 1st of 51 states in Alaska with an index of 277 (100 = the specialty's national median), across 39 codes and 65 sampled providers.

2

Of the 39 orthopedic surgery codes with enough data in Alaska, 39 pay above the national median and 0 below; the typical code sits at 277% of the national median.

3

Largest premium over the national median: CPT 20550 (Njx 1 tendon sheath/ligament) at 319%; largest discount: CPT 99203 (Office o/p new low 30 min) at 167%.

4

Measured against Medicare, Alaska orthopedic surgery rates have a median of 387% of the Medicare rate across these codes.

Codes above and below the national median

The five largest gaps in each direction

Highest vs national

CodeAlaskaNationalGapProv.
20550
Njx 1 tendon sheath/ligament
$235$74+218%65
20610
Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us
$265$85+210%65
27130
Total hip arthroplasty
$6,654$2,158+208%65
27447
Total knee arthroplasty
$6,646$2,190+204%65
73502
X-ray exam hip uni 2-3 views
$182$60+203%63

Lowest vs national

CodeAlaskaNationalGapProv.
99203
Office o/p new low 30 min
$205$123+67%65
99204
Office o/p new mod 45 min
$326$194+69%65
93000
Electrocardiogram complete
$44$25+73%65
99205
Office o/p new hi 60 min
$443$252+76%65
99212
Office o/p est sf 10 min
$91$51+78%65

All orthopedic surgery codes in Alaska

Median across payers vs the specialty's national median and the Medicare rate; sorted by premium
CodeAlaskaNationalGap% of MedicareProvidersTINsLevel
CPT 20550
Njx 1 tendon sheath/ligament
$235$74+219%389%6566
CPT 20610
Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us
$265$85+210%385%6567
CPT 27130
Total hip arthroplasty
$6,654$2,158+208%573%6566
CPT 27447
Total knee arthroplasty
$6,646$2,190+204%573%6566
CPT 73502
X-ray exam hip uni 2-3 views
$182$60+203%374%6365
CPT 73564
X-ray exam knee 4 or more
$181$60+202%366%6366
CPT 73030
X-ray exam of shoulder
$135$45+199%377%6365
CPT 73562
X-ray exam of knee 3
$157$53+197%370%6364
CPT 73610
X-ray exam of ankle
$139$47+195%374%6366
CPT 72100
X-ray exam l-s spine 2/3 vws
$156$53+194%387%6365
CPT 20611
Drain/inj joint/bursa w/us
$336$117+188%671%6566
CPT 73560
X-ray exam of knee 1 or 2
$129$45+188%374%6365
CPT 73630
X-ray exam of foot
$128$44+187%374%6366
CPT 72110
X-ray exam l-2 spine 4/>vws
$200$71+183%374%6364
CPT 22558
Arthrd ant ntrbd min dsc lum
$6,915$2,471+180%486%6564
CPT 29827
Sho arthrs srg rt8tr cuf rpr
$4,756$1,701+180%487%6566
CPT 22612
Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc lumbar
$7,120$2,557+178%485%6565
CPT 29848
Wrist endoscopy/surgery
$2,268$817+178%467%6364
CPT 23472
Reconstruct shoulder joint
$6,424$2,318+177%494%6365
CPT 27236
Treat thigh fracture
$5,306$1,918+177%487%6565
CPT 22633
Arthrd cmbn 1ntrspc lumbar
$8,234$2,991+175%484%6364
CPT 63047
Lam facetec & foramot lumbar
$4,926$1,796+174%462%6564
CPT 27487
Revise/replace knee joint
$7,778$2,840+174%494%6365
CPT 27245
Treat thigh fracture
$5,452$1,994+173%488%6564
CPT 22551
Arthrd ant ntrbdy cervical
$7,578$2,778+173%472%6364
CPT 26055
Incise finger tendon sheath
$1,623$614+164%564%6565
CPT 64721
Carpal tunnel surgery
$1,836$700+162%380%6566
CPT 97110
Therapeutic exercises
$70$31+122%240%6566
CPT 73221
Mri joint upr extrem w/o dye
$845$387+119%412%6362
CPT 73721
Mri jnt of lwr extre w/o dye
$844$387+118%413%6362
CPT 72148
Mri lumbar spine w/o dye
$796$370+115%415%6363
CPT 99215
Office o/p est hi 40 min
$352$185+90%183%6568
CPT 99213
Office o/p est low 20 min
$166$91+84%175%6568
CPT 99214
Office o/p est mod 30 min
$237$132+80%175%6568
CPT 99212
Office o/p est sf 10 min
$91$51+78%153%6568
CPT 99205
Office o/p new hi 60 min
$443$252+76%187%6567
CPT 93000
Electrocardiogram complete
$44$25+73%286%6565
CPT 99204
Office o/p new mod 45 min
$326$194+69%184%6568
CPT 99203
Office o/p new low 30 min
$205$123+67%175%6567

Frequently asked questions

How do Alaska orthopedic surgery rates compare with the rest of the country?

Alaska ranks 1st of 51 states with an index of 277; 39 of 39 codes are above the national median.

Which orthopedic surgery code has the biggest premium in Alaska?

CPT 20550 (Njx 1 tendon sheath/ligament), at 319% of the national median.

Are these Medicare or commercial rates?

Commercial in-network negotiated rates from four national payers' published files; the Medicare comparison column uses the CY2026 Medicare physician fee schedule.

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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