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Opening A Forefoot Joint To Drain Or Explore

North Carolina 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?

$1,296

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,296 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $501 to the doctor who performs it, and $794 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$501$363 to $759
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$794$468 to $2,512

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $794 · 10th to 90th $347 to $6,918Professionalmedian $501 · 10th to 90th $302 to $1,072
$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $794professional $501

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
$323.59
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$7,244.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$478.63
Typical High
$954.99
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$1,737.80
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$288.40
Median
$602.56
Typical High
$1,258.93
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$2,818.38
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$371.54
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$977.24
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$645.65
Median
$645.65
Typical High
$1,148.15
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$512.86
Typical High
$831.76
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$6,456.54
Typical High
$10,715.19
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$457.09
Typical High
$851.14
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$9,332.54
Median
$9,332.54
Typical High
$28,840.32
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3,548.13
Median
$3,548.13
Typical High
$4,073.80

Where North Carolina sits

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

North Carolina· 46th of 50

$1,296

$501 physician + $794 facility

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.