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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

Virginia 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?

$3,477

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,477 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $166 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,311 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 8 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$166$145 to $195
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,311$1,023 to $6,310

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,311 · 10th to 90th $191 to $9,772Professionalmedian $166 · 10th to 90th $135 to $257
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $3,311professional $166

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
$263.03
Median
$4,365.16
Typical High
$10,000.00
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$3,467.37
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,677.35
Median
$6,456.54
Typical High
$7,244.36
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$204.17
CareFirst
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$4,365.16
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$478.63
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$3,235.94
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$251.19
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$177.83
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$251.19
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$263.03
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$186.21
Sentara
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$912.01
Typical High
$8,709.64
Sentara
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$4,073.80
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,230.27
Median
$5,011.87
Typical High
$13,182.57
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$190.55
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
$77.62
Median
$81.28
Typical High
$85.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$30.90
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$33.88
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$120.23
Typical High
$128.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$23.44
Median
$23.99
Typical High
$25.70
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$15.49
Median
$16.22
Typical High
$16.98

Where Virginia 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

Virginia· 10th of 51

$3,477

$166 physician + $3,311 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.