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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

Kentucky rates for HCPCS 31528

A scope is passed through the mouth into the voice box so the surgeon can look at it directly and widen a narrowed part of the airway, stretching it with a dilator or a balloon. It relieves noisy or difficult breathing and a weak voice caused by scarring or narrowing. This covers the first such stretching; repeat sessions are billed separately.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing cost?

$1,811

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,811 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $151 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,660 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 7 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$151$138 to $209
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,660$832 to $2,630

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,660 · 10th to 90th $166 to $4,266Professionalmedian $151 · 10th to 90th $120 to $240
$50$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,660professional $151

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
$138.04
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$2,290.87
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$218.78
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$162.18
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$724.44
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$4,265.80
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$223.87
CareSource
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$128.82
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$2,691.53
CareSource
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$218.78
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$218.78
Median
$1,659.59
Typical High
$2,041.74
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$870.96
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$33.11
Median
$33.11
Typical High
$33.11
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$1,174.90
Typical High
$3,890.45
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$263.03
5 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
$69.18
Median
$70.79
Typical High
$83.18
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$28.18
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$33.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$104.71
Typical High
$123.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$20.89
Median
$21.38
Typical High
$24.55
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$13.80
Median
$14.13
Typical High
$16.60

Where Kentucky sits

The same service costs 14.3 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

Kentucky· 41st of 51

$1,811

$151 physician + $1,660 facility

CO $6,102MT $428

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.