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Vertebroplasty, Lower Back

California rates for HCPCS 22521

Injection of bone cement through a needle into a collapsed bone in the lower back to stabilize it and relieve the pain of the fracture. It is done through the skin with imaging guidance rather than through an open incision.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Vertebroplasty, Lower Back cost?

$4,365

Typical negotiated rate. In California, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,365 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $10,000 from a physician practice, and about $4,365 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

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.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$10,000$10,000 to $10,000
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$4,365$3,162 to $5,754

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,365 · 10th to 90th $2,570 to $12,882Professionalmedian $10,000 · 10th to 90th $1,698 to $10,000
$100$500$2K$10Kfacility $4,365professional $10,000

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,570.40
Median
$4,365.16
Typical High
$12,882.50
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$10,964.78
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$630.96
Typical High
$1,698.24
Lucent Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8,317.64
Median
$50,118.72
Typical High
$50,118.72
Lucent Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$10,000.00
Median
$10,000.00
Typical High
$10,000.00
Optum
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$54.95
Median
$54.95
Typical High
$70.79
Providence
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$4,570.88

Where California sits

The same service costs 166.0 times more in Massachusetts than in Washington. 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.

California· 11th of 35

$4,365

MA $10,000WA $60.26

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.