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Voice Box Exam With Stretching Of A Narrowing

Washington 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?

$2,006

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,006 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $186 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 10 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$186$129 to $245
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,820$933 to $3,631

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,820 · 10th to 90th $288 to $13,183Professionalmedian $186 · 10th to 90th $40 to $339
$100$1K$10Kfacility $1,820professional $186

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
$190.55
Median
$5,128.61
Typical High
$20,892.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$316.23
Asuris Northwest Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$93.33
Median
$1,000.00
Typical High
$14,454.40
Asuris Northwest Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$363.08
Typical High
$2,089.30
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$630.96
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$3,981.07
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$436.52
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$363.08
Typical High
$3,548.13
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$28.18
Median
$165.96
Typical High
$295.12
Pacific Source
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$275.42
Typical High
$281.84
Premera BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$794.33
Median
$1,548.82
Typical High
$2,818.38
Premera BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$194.98
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7,244.36
Median
$10,964.78
Typical High
$20,892.96
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$288.40
Typical High
$398.11
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$14,454.40
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$173.78
Median
$245.47
Typical High
$446.68
Wellpoint
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$177.83
Typical High
$257.04
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
$95.50
Median
$95.50
Typical High
$104.71
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$38.02
Median
$38.02
Typical High
$42.66
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$158.49
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$28.84
Median
$28.84
Typical High
$31.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$19.05
Median
$19.05
Typical High
$20.89

Where Washington 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

Washington· 31st of 51

$2,006

$186 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.