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External Frame With Computer-Guided Adjustment

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 20696

An external frame is attached to a limb by pins and wires passed through the bone in more than one direction, holding the bone from outside the skin. A computer program then works out a schedule of small daily adjustments to the frame, gradually moving the bone into the correct position over the following weeks. Imaging and the follow-up adjustment calculations are included.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does External Frame With Computer-Guided Adjustment cost?

$4,942

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,942 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,188 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,754 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$2,188$1,349 to $2,512
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,754$1,738 to $17,378

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,754 · 10th to 90th $1,148 to $30,903Professionalmedian $2,188 · 10th to 90th $1,148 to $3,311
$500$1K$2K$5K$10K$20K$50Kfacility $2,754professional $2,188

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
$1,148.15
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$8,317.64
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,148.15
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$1,348.96
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,737.80
Median
$2,570.40
Typical High
$3,467.37
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,380.38
Median
$2,238.72
Typical High
$3,311.31
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$25,703.96
Typical High
$35,481.34
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$2,818.38
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$2,754.23
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,412.54
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$26,915.35
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,288.25
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$1,905.46
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,047.13
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$12,302.69
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,000.00
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$2,818.38
8 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
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$870.96
Median
$870.96
Typical High
$1,000.00
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$812.83
Median
$812.83
Typical High
$933.25
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$1,096.48
Typical High
$13,489.63
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$645.65
Median
$676.08
Typical High
$1,380.38
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
80 · Assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$257.04
Median
$269.15
Typical High
$549.54
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
81 · Minimal assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$389.05
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
82 · Assistant surgeon, no resident
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$389.05
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
AS · PA/NP assist
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$389.05

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 8.5 times more in Wyoming than in Kentucky. 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· 33rd of 51

$4,942

$2,188 physician + $2,754 facility

WY $22,644KY $2,656

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.