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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

South 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?

$1,908

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,908 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $170 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,738 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$170$126 to $195
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,738$871 to $5,012

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,738 · 10th to 90th $661 to $9,550Professionalmedian $170 · 10th to 90th $110 to $263
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,738professional $170

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
$173.78
Median
$5,888.44
Typical High
$21,877.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$173.78
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$676.08
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$8,128.31
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$316.23
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$2,570.40
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$151.36
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$309.03
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$645.65
Typical High
$1,479.11
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$346.74
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$190.55
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$14,791.08
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$288.40
10 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
$87.10
Typical High
$87.10
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$28.18
Median
$34.67
Typical High
$34.67
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$128.82
Typical High
$128.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$20.89
Median
$25.70
Typical High
$25.70
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$13.80
Median
$17.38
Typical High
$17.38
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$89.13
Median
$112.20
Typical High
$173.78
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
80 · Assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$35.48
Median
$44.67
Typical High
$69.18
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
81 · Minimal assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$31.62
Typical High
$47.86
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
82 · Assistant surgeon, no resident
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$31.62
Typical High
$47.86
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
AS · PA/NP assist
Typical Low
$25.12
Median
$31.62
Typical High
$47.86

Where South 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

South Carolina· 37th of 51

$1,908

$170 physician + $1,738 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.