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Breast Wire Localization, First Lesion

California rates for HCPCS 19281

This procedure places a thin guide wire into the breast under mammography guidance to mark the exact location of an abnormal area before a surgeon removes it. It is done shortly before surgery so the surgeon can find and remove precisely the right tissue.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Breast Wire Localization, First Lesion cost?

$4,616

Typical total for the visit. In California, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,616 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $251 to the doctor who performs it, and $4,365 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

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 13 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$251$120 to $468
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$4,365$2,818 to $6,310

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,365 · 10th to 90th $1,514 to $12,882Professionalmedian $251 · 10th to 90th $91 to $1,072
$100$500$2K$10Kfacility $4,365professional $251

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
$912.01
Median
$4,786.30
Typical High
$14,125.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$91.20
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$1,148.15
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$1,412.54
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$4,365.16
Typical High
$12,882.50
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$123.03
Median
$309.03
Typical High
$691.83
Blue Shield
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$501.19
Typical High
$2,137.96
Blue Shield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$489.78
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$537.03
Contra Costa Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$91.20
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$363.08
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$85.11
Median
$239.88
Typical High
$446.68
Lucent Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$54.95
Median
$56.23
Typical High
$741.31
Lucent Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,737.80
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$1,995.26
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$199.53
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$331.13
Providence
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$416.87
Providence
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$537.03
Sutter Health Plus
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$331.13
Typical High
$812.83
The Alliance
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$83.18
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$363.08
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,344.23
Median
$4,265.80
Typical High
$9,549.93
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$93.33
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$524.81

Where California sits

The same service costs 12.0 times more in New Jersey than in Maryland. 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.

Physician feeFacility fee

California· 3rd of 51

$4,616

$251 physician + $4,365 facility

NJ $4,676MD $389

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.