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Light-Based Imaging Of The Middle Ear

Alabama rates for HCPCS 0486T

A light-based scan that produces cross-sectional images of the middle ear, the air-filled space behind the eardrum, without any incision. A probe is directed into the ear canal and the returning light is used to build a picture of the eardrum and what lies immediately behind it, which is then interpreted and reported. It shows more than an ordinary look with a standard scope.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Light-Based Imaging Of The Middle Ear cost?

$69.18

Typical negotiated rate. In Alabama, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $69.18 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $70.79 from a physician practice, and about $63.10 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 4 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$70.79$39.81 to $93.33
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$63.10$52.48 to $851

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $63 · 10th to 90th $48 to $2,818Professionalmedian $71 · 10th to 90th $39 to $117
$50$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $63professional $71

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
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$38.90
Median
$70.79
Typical High
$117.49
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$47.86
Median
$57.54
Typical High
$75.86
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$26.92
Median
$31.62
Typical High
$77.62
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$33.11
Median
$35.48
Typical High
$81.28
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$48.98
Median
$1,737.80
Typical High
$5,248.07
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$54.95
Median
$72.44
Typical High
$112.20

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 11.0 times more in Minnesota than in Nebraska. 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.

Alabama· 47th of 51

$69.18

MN $617NE $56.23

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.