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Voice Box Examination With Biopsy

Tennessee rates for HCPCS 31535

Passes a rigid viewing tube through the mouth while the patient is asleep so the surgeon can see the voice box directly and take a tissue sample for the laboratory. It is used to work out the cause of hoarseness, a growth, or a suspicious area on the vocal cords. This version is done without a microscope or telescope attached for magnified viewing.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Voice Box Examination With Biopsy cost?

$2,395

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,395 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $257 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,138 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$257$191 to $398
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,138$1,349 to $3,548

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,138 · 10th to 90th $832 to $4,786Professionalmedian $257 · 10th to 90th $174 to $2,188
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $2,138professional $257

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
$616.60
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$7,585.78
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$316.23
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$354.81
Median
$354.81
Typical High
$354.81
BCBS Tennessee
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,000.00
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$5,128.61
BCBS Tennessee
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$446.68
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$3,715.35
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$173.78
Median
$208.93
Typical High
$389.05
Lucent Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$2,187.76
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,000.00
Median
$2,570.40
Typical High
$5,128.61
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$177.83
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$416.87
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
$83.18
Median
$85.11
Typical High
$128.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$33.11
Median
$34.67
Typical High
$52.48
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$123.03
Median
$128.82
Typical High
$194.98
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$24.55
Median
$25.70
Typical High
$38.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$16.60
Median
$17.38
Typical High
$25.70

Where Tennessee sits

The same service costs 11.3 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

Tennessee· 25th of 51

$2,395

$257 physician + $2,138 facility

CO $6,301MT $557

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.