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Starting Vein-To-Vein ECMO Life Support

New Jersey rates for HCPCS 33946

Covers the physician work of setting up and starting an external machine that draws blood from a vein, adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide, then returns the blood to a vein. This form supports failing lungs while the patient's own heart continues to do the pumping. It covers getting the support running, not the day-to-day management afterwards.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Starting Vein-To-Vein ECMO Life Support cost?

$2,193

Typical total for the visit. In New Jersey, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,193 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $331 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,862 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$331$302 to $437
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,862$871 to $4,266

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,862 · 10th to 90th $347 to $8,511Professionalmedian $331 · 10th to 90th $288 to $759
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,862professional $331

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
$4,365.16
Median
$6,918.31
Typical High
$13,803.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$323.59
Median
$331.13
Typical High
$562.34
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$2,818.38
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$323.59
Typical High
$794.33
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$309.03
Median
$436.52
Typical High
$446.68
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$288.40
Median
$338.84
Typical High
$891.25
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$5,495.41
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$912.01
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
$165.96
Median
$165.96
Typical High
$173.78
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$66.07
Median
$66.07
Typical High
$69.18
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$251.19
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$263.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$50.12
Median
$50.12
Typical High
$52.48
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$33.11
Median
$33.11
Typical High
$34.67

Where New Jersey sits

The same service costs 6.1 times more in Alaska than in Maryland. 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

New Jersey· 13th of 51

$2,193

$331 physician + $1,862 facility

AK $5,496MD $901

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.