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Repeat Stretching of the Voice Box Airway

Colorado rates for HCPCS 31529

A scope is passed into the voice box, and the windpipe below it when needed, and a narrowed section of the airway is stretched open with a balloon or dilator. It is used when scarring or swelling has tightened the airway, causing noisy or difficult breathing or a weak voice. This is a repeat stretching, carried out after an earlier one.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Repeat Stretching of the Voice Box Airway cost?

$6,260

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $6,260 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $234 to the doctor who performs it, and $6,026 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 7 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$234$195 to $309
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$6,026$2,512 to $7,762

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $6,026 · 10th to 90th $1,349 to $12,023Professionalmedian $234 · 10th to 90th $178 to $389
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $6,026professional $234

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
$1,258.93
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$9,120.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$3,235.94
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,897.79
Median
$7,585.78
Typical High
$13,182.57
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$263.03
Typical High
$389.05
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$3,235.94
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$177.83
Median
$234.42
Typical High
$316.23
Denver HMP
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$346.74
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$288.40
Select Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$275.42
Typical High
$2,818.38
Select Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$97.72
Median
$138.04
Typical High
$269.15
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,288.25
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$7,585.78
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$363.08
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
$89.13
Median
$95.50
Typical High
$95.50
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$35.48
Median
$38.02
Typical High
$38.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$144.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$26.92
Median
$28.18
Typical High
$28.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$17.78
Median
$19.05
Typical High
$19.50

Where Colorado sits

The same service costs 13.0 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

Colorado· 1st of 51

$6,260

$234 physician + $6,026 facility

CO $6,260MT $480

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.