Removing Lymph Nodes Behind the Breastbone

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 38530

Removes or samples the lymph nodes lying just behind the breastbone, alongside the vessels that run down the inside of the front chest wall. They are reached through a small chest incision and examined under a microscope, usually to see whether a breast cancer has spread along that drainage route. It is done when those nodes matter to staging or to planning treatment.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Removing Lymph Nodes Behind the Breastbone cost?

$5,098

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $5,098 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $832 to the doctor who performs it, and $4,266 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

16% physician fee84% facility fee

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 52 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the bill	Who charges it	Typical	Range
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it	The doctor who performs it	$832	$617 to $1,230
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center	The hospital or surgery center	$4,266	$2,042 to $7,244

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,266 · 10th to 90th $851 to $12,023Professionalmedian $832 · 10th to 90th $537 to $1,995

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier	Facility/Professional	Modifier	Typical Low	Median	Typical High
Aetna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $724.44 Median $3,467.37 Typical High $10,000.00	Facility	Global	$724.44	$3,467.37	$10,000.00
BCBS Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $1,995.26 Median $5,754.40 Typical High $13,803.84	Facility	Global	$1,995.26	$5,754.40	$13,803.84
Cigna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $933.25 Median $1,778.28 Typical High $5,011.87	Facility	Global	$933.25	$1,778.28	$5,011.87
United Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $1,513.56 Median $4,265.80 Typical High $10,000.00	Facility	Global	$1,513.56	$4,265.80	$10,000.00

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 4.0 times more in Wisconsin than in Oregon. 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

Touch or drag across the chart to see any state's rate.

WI $8,935OR $2,244

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.