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Opening A Forefoot Joint To Drain Or Explore

South 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 October 2026.

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

$2,135

Typical total for the visit. In South Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,135 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $437 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,698 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$437$316 to $537
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,698$871 to $5,495

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,698 · 10th to 90th $646 to $10,000Professionalmedian $437 · 10th to 90th $89 to $661
$50$200$1K$5Kfacility $1,698professional $437

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
$371.54
Median
$5,623.41
Typical High
$21,877.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$363.08
Median
$416.87
Typical High
$549.54
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$691.83
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$8,912.51
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$302.00
Median
$446.68
Typical High
$537.03
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$2,511.89
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$398.11
Median
$512.86
Typical High
$758.58
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$371.54
Median
$602.56
Typical High
$1,318.26
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$489.78
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$645.65
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$38.90
Median
$380.19
Typical High
$676.08
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$14,791.08
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$288.40
Median
$446.68
Typical High
$741.31
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
$186.21
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$275.42
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$75.86
Median
$83.18
Typical High
$109.65
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$281.84
Median
$309.03
Typical High
$416.87
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$63.10
Typical High
$83.18
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$37.15
Median
$41.69
Typical High
$54.95
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$288.40
Typical High
$389.05
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$245.47
Median
$309.03
Typical High
$426.58

Where South Carolina 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

South Carolina· 37th of 51

$2,135

$437 physician + $1,698 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.