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Repeat Stretching of the Voice Box Airway

Minnesota 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?

$984

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $984 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $339 to the doctor who performs it, and $646 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$339$251 to $490
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$646$316 to $3,631

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $646 · 10th to 90th $170 to $5,754Professionalmedian $339 · 10th to 90th $182 to $661
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $646professional $339

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
$169.82
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$4,365.16
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$169.82
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$204.17
BCBS Minnesota
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$5,888.44
Typical High
$13,803.84
BCBS Minnesota
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$316.23
Typical High
$562.34
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$257.04
Median
$398.11
Typical High
$776.25
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$467.74
Typical High
$724.44
Health Partners
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$229.09
Median
$371.54
Typical High
$645.65
Health Partners
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$416.87
Typical High
$645.65
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$6,760.83
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$1,659.59
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$8,317.64
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$177.83
Median
$323.59
Typical High
$676.08
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
Facility
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$85.11
Median
$85.11
Typical High
$85.11
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$33.88
Median
$33.88
Typical High
$33.88
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$128.82
Median
$128.82
Typical High
$128.82
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$25.70
Median
$25.70
Typical High
$25.70
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$16.98
Median
$16.98
Typical High
$16.98
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$85.11
Median
$85.11
Typical High
$102.33
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$33.88
Median
$33.88
Typical High
$40.74
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$128.82
Median
$128.82
Typical High
$151.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$25.70
Median
$25.70
Typical High
$30.20
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$16.98
Median
$16.98
Typical High
$20.42

Where Minnesota 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

Minnesota· 49th of 51

$984

$339 physician + $646 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.