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Opening A Forefoot Joint To Drain Or Explore

Alabama 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 October 2026.

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

$3,699

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,699 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $537 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,162 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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$537$389 to $575
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,162$1,698 to $3,162

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,162 · 10th to 90th $871 to $3,162Professionalmedian $537 · 10th to 90th $316 to $776
$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $3,162professional $537

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
$645.65
Median
$1,230.27
Typical High
$2,398.83
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$537.03
Typical High
$776.25
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,162.28
Median
$3,162.28
Typical High
$3,162.28
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$489.78
Median
$1,548.82
Typical High
$1,949.84
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$467.74
Typical High
$575.44
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$758.58
Median
$1,737.80
Typical High
$4,168.69
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$398.11
Typical High
$691.83
7 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
$269.15
Median
$269.15
Typical High
$389.05
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$107.15
Typical High
$154.88
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$407.38
Median
$407.38
Typical High
$575.44
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$81.28
Median
$81.28
Typical High
$114.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$53.70
Median
$53.70
Typical High
$77.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$380.19
Typical High
$537.03
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
32 · Mandated service
Typical Low
$338.84
Median
$467.74
Typical High
$645.65

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 5.3 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

Alabama· 10th of 51

$3,699

$537 physician + $3,162 facility

CO $6,378MT $1,213

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.