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Removing Lymph Nodes Behind the Breastbone

Vermont 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 October 2026.

How much does Removing Lymph Nodes Behind the Breastbone cost?

$794

Typical physician fee. In Vermont, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $794 for this service. Most negotiated rates run $646 to $977.

Few insurers publish rates for this combination, so treat this figure as a rough guide.

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 3 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,698 · 10th to 90th $407 to $3,548Professionalmedian $794 · 10th to 90th $575 to $1,259
$500$1K$2Kfacility $1,698professional $794

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Small sample; interpret with caution. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$645.65
Typical High
$645.65
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$407.38
Median
$407.38
Typical High
$3,548.13
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$575.44
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$1,122.02
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$1,698.24
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$1,380.38

Where Vermont sits

The same service costs 5.9 times more in Alaska than in Utah. 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.

Vermont· 29th of 51

$794

AK $2,291UT $389

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.