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Glaucoma Drainage Gel Implant Placement

Colorado rates for HCPCS 0449T

A surgeon places a soft, flexible tube-like implant inside the eye to create a new drainage channel for fluid, helping to lower eye pressure in people with glaucoma. It's placed through a very small opening without a large incision, and unlike some other minimally invasive glaucoma implants, it's often positioned to drain fluid to just beneath the surface tissue of the eye rather than into a deeper internal space. It's typically used for glaucoma that hasn't been well controlled with eye drops alone.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Glaucoma Drainage Gel Implant Placement cost?

$3,236

Typical negotiated rate. In Colorado, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,236 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $813 from a physician practice, and about $8,511 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$813$776 to $871
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$8,511$5,495 to $12,882

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $8,511 · 10th to 90th $2,042 to $18,197Professionalmedian $813 · 10th to 90th $676 to $1,318
$500.0$1.0K$2.0K$5.0K$10.0K$20.0Kfacility $8,511professional $813

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,862.09
Median
$5,495.41
Typical High
$8,912.51
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$676.08
Median
$776.25
Typical High
$870.96
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$6,165.95
Median
$11,481.54
Typical High
$19,498.45
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$691.83
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$1,584.89
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$1,202.26
Typical High
$1,258.93
Denver HMP
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$660.69
Median
$812.83
Typical High
$1,148.15
Select Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$1,412.54
Select Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$676.08
Typical High
$977.24
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7,762.47
Median
$11,748.98
Typical High
$18,197.01
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$741.31
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$1,621.81

Where Colorado sits

The same service costs 7.2 times more in California than in North Dakota. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Pick one to see its carriers and full range.

Colorado $3,236 · 3rd of 51
CA $4,898ND $676

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.