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Repeat Stretching of the Voice Box Airway

Maine 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?

$2,081

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,081 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $219 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,862 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$182 to $269
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,862$1,698 to $2,291

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,862 · 10th to 90th $708 to $3,311Professionalmedian $219 · 10th to 90th $155 to $309
$100$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $1,862professional $219

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Small sample; interpret with caution. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$194.98
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$309.03
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$3,019.95
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$199.53
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$354.81
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$3,311.31
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$295.12
Martin's Point
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$194.98
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$3,311.31
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$316.23
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
$97.72
Median
$97.72
Typical High
$97.72
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$38.90
Median
$38.90
Typical High
$38.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$147.91
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$147.91
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$29.51
Median
$29.51
Typical High
$29.51
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$19.50
Median
$19.50
Typical High
$19.50

Where Maine 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

Maine· 29th of 51

$2,081

$219 physician + $1,862 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.