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Opening A Forefoot Joint To Drain Or Explore

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 28022

Opens a joint in the forefoot surgically to look inside, wash out infection, or take out a loose fragment of bone or cartilage or a foreign object. It is used when imaging or a needle drainage is not enough to clear or identify the problem. The joint is closed afterwards and usually protected in a stiff-soled shoe or boot.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Opening A Forefoot Joint To Drain Or Explore cost?

$3,957

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,957 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $490 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,467 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 69 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$490$363 to $708
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,467$1,148 to $6,026

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,467 · 10th to 90th $501 to $10,233Professionalmedian $490 · 10th to 90th $302 to $1,122
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $3,467professional $490

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
$9,120.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$302.00
Median
$457.09
Typical High
$891.25
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,238.72
Median
$4,897.79
Typical High
$13,489.63
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$478.63
Typical High
$870.96
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$4,073.80
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$346.74
Median
$575.44
Typical High
$1,230.27
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,479.11
Median
$4,073.80
Typical High
$9,549.93
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$302.00
Median
$489.78
Typical High
$1,000.00

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 15.6 times more in Maine than in West Virginia. 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.

ME $13,672WV $874

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.