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Repeat Stretching of the Voice Box Airway

Michigan 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?

$1,987

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,987 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $209 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,778 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$209$170 to $214
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,778$1,202 to $2,512

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,778 · 10th to 90th $589 to $3,715Professionalmedian $209 · 10th to 90th $43 to $229
$50$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,778professional $209

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
$208.93
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$4,897.79
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$177.83
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$223.87
BCBS Michigan
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$3,090.30
BCBS Michigan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$36.31
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$213.80
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$549.54
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$562.34
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$416.87
Median
$1,202.26
Typical High
$4,897.79
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$251.19
Priority Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$549.54
Priority Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$501.19
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$1,230.27
Typical High
$5,248.07
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$269.15
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
$95.50
Median
$107.15
Typical High
$112.20
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$38.02
Median
$43.65
Typical High
$44.67
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$165.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$28.84
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$33.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$19.05
Median
$21.38
Typical High
$22.39
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$107.15
Typical High
$107.15
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$40.74
Median
$42.66
Typical High
$42.66
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$158.49
Typical High
$158.49
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$30.90
Median
$31.62
Typical High
$31.62
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$20.42
Median
$21.38
Typical High
$21.38

Where Michigan 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

Michigan· 32nd of 51

$1,987

$209 physician + $1,778 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.