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Light-Based Imaging Of The Middle Ear

North Dakota 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?

$75.86

Typical negotiated rate. In North Dakota, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $75.86 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $81.28 from a physician practice, and about $60.26 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$81.28$54.95 to $91.20
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$60.26$53.70 to $69.18

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $60 · 10th to 90th $54 to $100Professionalmedian $81 · 10th to 90th $54 to $120
$50$100$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $60professional $81

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
$53.70
Median
$53.70
Typical High
$60.26
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$53.70
Median
$75.86
Typical High
$91.20
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$138.04
Typical High
$223.87
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$53.70
Median
$79.43
Typical High
$158.49
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$72.44
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$707.95
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$2,041.74
Typical High
$2,041.74
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$58.88
Median
$97.72
Typical High
$173.78

Where North Dakota 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.

North Dakota· 44th of 51

$75.86

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.