Emergency Breathing Tube Insertion

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 31500

Places a tube through the mouth into the windpipe in an emergency, so that air or oxygen can be delivered straight to the lungs. It is done when a person stops breathing adequately, cannot protect their airway, or needs a ventilator urgently, and it secures the airway within seconds to minutes. The ventilator care that follows is charged separately.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Emergency Breathing Tube Insertion cost?

$1,826

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,826 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $204 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,622 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

11% physician fee89% facility fee

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 58 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the bill	Who charges it	Typical	Range
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it	The doctor who performs it	$204	$155 to $295
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center	The hospital or surgery center	$1,622	$525 to $3,715

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,622 · 10th to 90th $204 to $6,607Professionalmedian $204 · 10th to 90th $132 to $437

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	Facility/Professional	Modifier	Typical Low	Median	Typical High
Aetna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $199.53 Median $1,202.26 Typical High $6,760.83	Facility	Global	$199.53	$1,202.26	$6,760.83
BCBS Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $1,584.89 Median $3,715.35 Typical High $9,549.93	Facility	Global	$1,584.89	$3,715.35	$9,549.93
Cigna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $141.25 Median $354.81 Typical High $1,096.48	Facility	Global	$141.25	$354.81	$1,096.48
Cigna Setting Facility Modifier 22 · Increased work Typical Low $288.40 Median $288.40 Typical High $288.40	Facility	22 · Increased work	$288.40	$288.40	$288.40
United Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $199.53 Median $977.24 Typical High $3,311.31	Facility	Global	$199.53	$977.24	$3,311.31

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 18.2 times more in California than in Maryland. 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.

CA $4,327MD $238

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.