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Glaucoma Drainage Gel Implant Placement

North Carolina 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 October 2026.

How much does Glaucoma Drainage Gel Implant Placement cost?

$1,514

Typical negotiated rate. In North Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,514 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $1,175 from a physician practice, and about $4,169 from a hospital or other facility.

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 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$1,175$776 to $1,514
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$4,169$2,630 to $6,761

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,169 · 10th to 90th $912 to $10,233Professionalmedian $1,175 · 10th to 90th $708 to $1,905
$500$1K$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $4,169professional $1,175

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$741.31
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$8,317.64
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$741.31
Median
$741.31
Typical High
$851.14
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$4,265.80
Typical High
$6,760.83
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$776.25
Median
$1,513.56
Typical High
$2,290.87
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$5,754.40
Typical High
$9,549.93
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,174.90
Median
$2,691.53
Typical High
$7,762.47
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$537.03
Median
$707.95
Typical High
$707.95
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$3,311.31
Typical High
$15,848.93
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$645.65
Median
$912.01
Typical High
$1,584.89
7 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$371.54
Median
$371.54
Typical High
$380.19
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$147.91
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$151.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$562.34
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$112.20
Typical High
$112.20
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$74.13
Median
$74.13
Typical High
$75.86
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$3,890.45
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$354.81
Typical High
$354.81

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 5.1 times more in Texas than in Delaware. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

North Carolina· 14th of 51

$1,514

TX $3,981DE $776

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.