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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

Maine 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?

$2,057

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,057 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $195 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,862 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$195$166 to $240
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,862$1,698 to $2,291

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,862 · 10th to 90th $708 to $3,311Professionalmedian $195 · 10th to 90th $141 to $275
$100$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $1,862professional $195

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
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$245.47
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$128.82
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$275.42
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$3,019.95
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$177.83
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$323.59
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$3,311.31
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$263.03
Martin's Point
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$158.49
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$245.47
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$3,311.31
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$223.87
Typical High
$288.40
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
$87.10
Median
$87.10
Typical High
$87.10
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$35.48
Median
$35.48
Typical High
$35.48
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$131.83
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$26.30
Median
$26.30
Typical High
$26.30
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$17.38
Median
$17.38
Typical High
$17.38

Where Maine 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

Maine· 28th of 51

$2,057

$195 physician + $1,862 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.