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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

North Carolina 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?

$2,038

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,038 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $219 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,820 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$219$178 to $339
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,820$977 to $3,162

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,820 · 10th to 90th $525 to $5,623Professionalmedian $219 · 10th to 90th $148 to $427
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,820professional $219

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
$239.88
Typical High
$7,943.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$138.04
Typical High
$257.04
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$125.89
Median
$125.89
Typical High
$125.89
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,148.15
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$4,570.88
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$295.12
Typical High
$436.52
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$3,388.44
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$380.19
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$2,344.23
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$309.03
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$8,709.64
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$181.97
Typical High
$346.74
11 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
$69.18
Typical High
$85.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$28.18
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$33.88
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$104.71
Typical High
$128.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$20.89
Median
$20.89
Typical High
$25.70
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$13.80
Median
$13.80
Typical High
$16.98
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$257.04
Median
$616.60
Typical High
$1,584.89
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$89.13
Median
$93.33
Typical High
$204.17
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
80 · Assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$35.48
Median
$37.15
Typical High
$81.28
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
81 · Minimal assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$26.30
Typical High
$56.23
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
82 · Assistant surgeon, no resident
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$26.30
Typical High
$56.23
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
AS · PA/NP assist
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$26.30
Typical High
$56.23

Where North Carolina 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

North Carolina· 30th of 51

$2,038

$219 physician + $1,820 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.