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Application Of Skull Tongs Or Head Frame

Alabama rates for HCPCS 20660

Attaches tongs or a frame to the skull to hold the head and neck steady. Removing the device later is part of this same service. It is provided on its own, not together with a related operation.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Application Of Skull Tongs Or Head Frame cost?

$3,756

Typical total for the visit. In Alabama, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,756 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $288 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,467 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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$288$245 to $380
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,467$1,023 to $3,548

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,467 · 10th to 90th $575 to $3,548Professionalmedian $288 · 10th to 90th $204 to $389
$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $3,467professional $288

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
$645.65
Median
$1,230.27
Typical High
$2,398.83
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$380.19
Typical High
$380.19
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,467.37
Median
$3,548.13
Typical High
$3,548.13
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
32 · Mandated service
Typical Low
$309.03
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$426.58
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$870.96
Typical High
$1,230.27
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$245.47
Median
$288.40
Typical High
$501.19
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$467.74
Median
$1,000.00
Typical High
$3,162.28
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$234.42
Typical High
$380.19
5 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
$190.55
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$190.55
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$75.86
Median
$75.86
Typical High
$75.86
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$281.84
Median
$281.84
Typical High
$281.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$56.23
Typical High
$56.23
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$38.02
Median
$38.02
Typical High
$38.02

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 6.2 times more in Colorado than in Montana. 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

Alabama· 3rd of 51

$3,756

$288 physician + $3,467 facility

CO $4,689MT $752

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.