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Cutting a Tight Tendon in the Forearm or Wrist

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 25290

Through an incision, a tendon in the forearm or wrist that is too tight is deliberately divided to release the pull it is putting on the wrist or fingers. Releasing it lets a joint that was being held in a bent or twisted position straighten out. It covers a single tendon; if more than one is released, each is billed separately.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Cutting a Tight Tendon in the Forearm or Wrist cost?

$2,940

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,940 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $851 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,089 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$851$603 to $1,122
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,089$1,318 to $3,020

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,089 · 10th to 90th $589 to $5,754Professionalmedian $851 · 10th to 90th $468 to $1,318
$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,089professional $851

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
$426.58
Median
$588.84
Typical High
$7,943.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$426.58
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$891.25
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$269.15
Typical High
$269.15
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,318.26
Median
$2,089.30
Typical High
$3,311.31
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$933.25
Typical High
$1,318.26
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$645.65
Median
$2,238.72
Typical High
$3,235.94
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$537.03
Median
$891.25
Typical High
$1,202.26
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,000.00
Median
$1,230.27
Typical High
$1,230.27
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$575.44
Median
$1,412.54
Typical High
$2,691.53
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$457.09
Median
$616.60
Typical High
$1,148.15
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,047.13
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$12,022.64
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$363.08
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$1,071.52
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
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$213.80
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$245.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$85.11
Median
$85.11
Typical High
$97.72
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$323.59
Median
$323.59
Typical High
$371.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$64.57
Median
$64.57
Typical High
$74.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$42.66
Median
$42.66
Typical High
$48.98
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$302.00
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$346.74
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$707.95
Typical High
$1,698.24
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$229.09
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$588.84

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 5.0 times more in Wisconsin 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

$2,940

$851 physician + $2,089 facility

WI $7,200MT $1,432

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.