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Vertebroplasty, Lower Back

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 22511

Bone cement is injected through a needle into a broken or weakened bone of the lower spine to stabilize it and relieve pain. X-ray guidance is used to place the needle and watch the cement fill the bone, and that imaging is part of the service. It is done through a small puncture rather than an open incision, usually with sedation and numbing medicine.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Vertebroplasty, Lower Back cost?

$3,743

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,743 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $1,288 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,455 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$1,288$832 to $3,162
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,455$1,738 to $3,311

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,455 · 10th to 90th $871 to $6,310Professionalmedian $1,288 · 10th to 90th $537 to $4,266
$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,455professional $1,288

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
$398.11
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$8,511.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$398.11
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$1,949.84
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,862.09
Median
$2,754.23
Typical High
$3,801.89
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$676.08
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$4,570.88
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$3,981.07
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$537.03
Median
$1,380.38
Typical High
$3,090.30
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,466.84
Median
$4,466.84
Typical High
$4,466.84
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$630.96
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$3,388.44
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,089.30
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$2,691.53
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,047.13
Median
$2,691.53
Typical High
$12,302.69
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$1,380.38
Typical High
$3,090.30
7 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
$199.53
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$912.01
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$79.43
Median
$263.03
Typical High
$363.08
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$1,000.00
Typical High
$1,348.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$60.26
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$269.15
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$181.97
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$933.25
Typical High
$1,258.93
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$1,174.90
Median
$1,174.90
Typical High
$2,137.96

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 4.4 times more in Oklahoma 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

North Carolina· 34th of 51

$3,743

$1,288 physician + $2,455 facility

OK $10,373MD $2,367

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.