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Repeat Stretching of the Voice Box Airway

North Carolina 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?

$2,047

Typical total for the visit. In North Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,047 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $269 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$269$204 to $389
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,778$1,096 to $2,818

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,778 · 10th to 90th $603 to $5,248Professionalmedian $269 · 10th to 90th $170 to $479
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,778professional $269

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
$158.49
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$7,943.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$158.49
Median
$158.49
Typical High
$295.12
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,122.02
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$2,290.87
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$331.13
Typical High
$489.78
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$3,388.44
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$223.87
Typical High
$426.58
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$2,344.23
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$316.23
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$8,709.64
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$158.49
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$389.05
12 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
$77.62
Median
$77.62
Typical High
$95.50
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$31.62
Median
$31.62
Typical High
$38.02
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$117.49
Typical High
$141.25
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$23.44
Median
$23.44
Typical High
$28.18
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$15.85
Median
$15.85
Typical High
$19.05
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$100.00
Typical High
$100.00
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$257.04
Median
$616.60
Typical High
$1,584.89
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$104.71
Typical High
$229.09
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
80 · Assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$41.69
Median
$41.69
Typical High
$91.20
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
81 · Minimal assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$28.84
Median
$29.51
Typical High
$63.10
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
82 · Assistant surgeon, no resident
Typical Low
$28.84
Median
$29.51
Typical High
$63.10
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
AS · PA/NP assist
Typical Low
$28.84
Median
$29.51
Typical High
$63.10

Where North Carolina 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

North Carolina· 31st of 51

$2,047

$269 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.