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Application Of Skull Tongs Or Head Frame

North Carolina 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?

$1,767

Typical total for the visit. In North Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,767 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $355 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,413 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 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$355$234 to $513
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,413$776 to $1,862

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,413 · 10th to 90th $501 to $3,388Professionalmedian $355 · 10th to 90th $219 to $676
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,413professional $355

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
$234.42
Median
$1,000.00
Typical High
$7,943.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$234.42
Typical High
$316.23
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,174.90
Median
$1,737.80
Typical High
$2,398.83
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$218.78
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$691.83
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$1,318.26
Typical High
$2,187.76
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$478.63
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$562.34
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$2,691.53
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$223.87
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$380.19
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$478.63
Median
$831.76
Typical High
$4,365.16
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$537.03
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
$117.49
Median
$117.49
Typical High
$138.04
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$46.77
Median
$46.77
Typical High
$54.95
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$173.78
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$204.17
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$35.48
Median
$35.48
Typical High
$40.74
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$23.44
Median
$23.44
Typical High
$27.54
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$275.42

Where North Carolina 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

North Carolina· 25th of 51

$1,767

$355 physician + $1,413 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.