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Opening A Forefoot Joint To Drain Or Explore

Delaware 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?

$1,820

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,820 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $407 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,413 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 3 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$407$324 to $490
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,413$1,000 to $2,512

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,413 · 10th to 90th $617 to $2,884Professionalmedian $407 · 10th to 90th $288 to $603
$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,413professional $407

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Small sample; interpret with caution. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$323.59
Median
$489.78
Typical High
$7,244.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$323.59
Median
$416.87
Typical High
$501.19
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$562.34
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$3,235.94
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$323.59
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$676.08
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$912.01
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$2,570.40
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$398.11
Typical High
$630.96
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
$162.18
Median
$177.83
Typical High
$245.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$64.57
Median
$70.79
Typical High
$97.72
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$239.88
Median
$269.15
Typical High
$371.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$47.86
Median
$53.70
Typical High
$74.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$32.36
Median
$35.48
Typical High
$48.98
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$223.87
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$346.74

Where Delaware 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

Delaware· 46th of 51

$1,820

$407 physician + $1,413 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.