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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

Missouri 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?

$2,303

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,303 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $214 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,089 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$214$162 to $288
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,089$1,148 to $3,467

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,089 · 10th to 90th $501 to $6,310Professionalmedian $214 · 10th to 90th $141 to $398
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,089professional $214

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
$1,071.52
Median
$3,715.35
Typical High
$7,762.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$426.58
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$1,621.81
Typical High
$3,890.45
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$151.36
Median
$234.42
Typical High
$288.40
BCBS Kansas City
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$125.89
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$194.98
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$2,041.74
Typical High
$2,454.71
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$363.08
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$467.74
Median
$2,754.23
Typical High
$16,218.10
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$295.12
Typical High
$1,995.26
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,000.00
Median
$2,818.38
Typical High
$5,495.41
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$147.91
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$309.03
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
$66.07
Median
$72.44
Typical High
$77.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$26.30
Median
$28.84
Typical High
$30.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$109.65
Typical High
$114.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$19.95
Median
$21.88
Typical High
$22.91
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$13.18
Median
$14.45
Typical High
$15.49

Where Missouri 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

Missouri· 26th of 51

$2,303

$214 physician + $2,089 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.