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Bronchoscopy With Needle Sampling Through Airway

Alabama rates for HCPCS 31629

A flexible scope is passed through the nose or mouth down into the windpipe and main airways, and a fine needle is pushed through the airway wall to draw cells from a lymph node or mass sitting just outside it. Because the needle reaches targets beyond the airway, no cut is needed on the chest. Samples are sent for laboratory examination to explain a swelling or shadow seen on scans.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Bronchoscopy With Needle Sampling Through Airway cost?

$2,762

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,762 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $363 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,399 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 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$363$240 to $661
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,399$1,738 to $2,399

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,399 · 10th to 90th $1,047 to $3,715Professionalmedian $363 · 10th to 90th $174 to $724
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $2,399professional $363

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
$316.23
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$1,862.09
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$478.63
Typical High
$724.44
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$91.20
Median
$91.20
Typical High
$144.54
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$2,398.83
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
32 · Mandated service
Typical Low
$398.11
Median
$537.03
Typical High
$758.58
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$489.78
Median
$1,621.81
Typical High
$1,995.26
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$239.88
Median
$457.09
Typical High
$660.69
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,096.48
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$5,248.07
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$158.49
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$724.44
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
$158.49
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$363.08
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$63.10
Median
$89.13
Typical High
$144.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$234.42
Median
$331.13
Typical High
$549.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$46.77
Median
$66.07
Typical High
$109.65
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$31.62
Median
$43.65
Typical High
$72.44

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 6.8 times more in Colorado than in North Dakota. 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

Alabama· 22nd of 51

$2,762

$363 physician + $2,399 facility

CO $6,401ND $936

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.