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Application Of Skull Tongs Or Head Frame

Louisiana 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?

$1,983

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,983 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $324 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,660 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$324$275 to $389
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,660$832 to $3,236

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,660 · 10th to 90th $513 to $5,129Professionalmedian $324 · 10th to 90th $234 to $427
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,660professional $324

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
$457.09
Median
$1,513.56
Typical High
$3,548.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$323.59
Typical High
$436.52
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,096.48
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$6,760.83
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$309.03
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$389.05
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$1,621.81
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$239.88
Median
$323.59
Typical High
$426.58
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$3,388.44
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$213.80
Median
$263.03
Typical High
$457.09
6 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
$158.49
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$208.93
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$63.10
Median
$64.57
Typical High
$83.18
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$245.47
Typical High
$309.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$46.77
Median
$48.98
Typical High
$61.66
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$31.62
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$41.69
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
59 · Distinct service
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$263.03
Typical High
$263.03

Where Louisiana 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

Louisiana· 20th of 51

$1,983

$324 physician + $1,660 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.