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Spacer Placement At A Second Lumbar Level

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 22868

Places a spacer between the bones at a second level of the lower spine, without fusing them. It is performed alongside work on the first level and charged in addition to it. Opening the spine to relieve pressure on the nerves and any image guidance are included.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Spacer Placement At A Second Lumbar Level cost?

$3,911

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,911 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $363 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,548 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 51 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$363$245 to $537
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,548$1,202 to $8,128

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,548 · 10th to 90th $347 to $13,490Professionalmedian $363 · 10th to 90th $209 to $891
$10$100$1K$10Kfacility $3,548professional $363

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
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$501.19
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$9,772.37
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3,890.45
Median
$9,772.37
Typical High
$16,982.44
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$645.65
Typical High
$1,819.70
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
AS · PA/NP assist
Typical Low
$38.02
Median
$38.02
Typical High
$38.02
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$1,174.90
Typical High
$3,801.89

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 33.6 times more in California 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

Touch or drag across the chart to see any state's rate.

CA $10,245MD $305

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.