go back

Opening a Joint at the Base of the Hand

Louisiana rates for HCPCS 26070

Opens one of the joints where a finger's long hand bone meets the small bones of the wrist, so the surgeon can look inside, drain infection, or take out a loose fragment or foreign object. It is done through a short incision directly over the joint. It targets that base joint rather than the knuckle or the finger joints further out.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Opening a Joint at the Base of the Hand cost?

$1,601

Typical total for the visit. In Louisiana, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,601 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $427 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,175 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$427$363 to $525
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,175$955 to $2,630

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,175 · 10th to 90th $537 to $3,802Professionalmedian $427 · 10th to 90th $302 to $562
$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,175professional $427

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
$489.78
Median
$1,513.56
Typical High
$3,548.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$407.38
Typical High
$549.54
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$977.24
Median
$1,412.54
Typical High
$4,265.80
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$407.38
Median
$524.81
Typical High
$524.81
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$501.19
Median
$794.33
Typical High
$1,548.82
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$562.34
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$3,388.44
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$281.84
Median
$338.84
Typical High
$575.44
6 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
$194.98
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$257.04
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$79.43
Median
$81.28
Typical High
$104.71
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$389.05
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$58.88
Median
$61.66
Typical High
$77.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$38.90
Median
$40.74
Typical High
$51.29
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$281.84
Typical High
$363.08

Where Louisiana sits

The same service costs 4.6 times more in Colorado 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

Louisiana· 33rd of 51

$1,601

$427 physician + $1,175 facility

CO $4,822MT $1,050

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.