Cutting The Tight Muscle At The Top Of The Gullet

Nationwide rates for HCPCS 43030

Divides the cricopharyngeus, the ring of muscle at the top of the esophagus that normally relaxes to let food pass. When it stays tight, swallowing feels blocked at the throat and food or liquid can come back up or go down the wrong way. Through an incision in the side of the neck the surgeon cuts the muscle so the passage opens freely.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Cutting The Tight Muscle At The Top Of The Gullet cost?

$6,078

Typical total for the visit. Nationwide, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $6,078 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $708 to the doctor who performs it, and $5,370 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

12% physician fee88% 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 55 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	$708	$525 to $1,072
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center	The hospital or surgery center	$5,370	$1,096 to $10,233

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $5,370 · 10th to 90th $617 to $14,791Professionalmedian $708 · 10th to 90th $468 to $1,950

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 $616.60 Median $4,073.80 Typical High $11,481.54	Facility	Global	$616.60	$4,073.80	$11,481.54
BCBS Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $3,388.44 Median $9,772.37 Typical High $17,782.79	Facility	Global	$3,388.44	$9,772.37	$17,782.79
Cigna Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $562.34 Median $1,412.54 Typical High $5,011.87	Facility	Global	$562.34	$1,412.54	$5,011.87
United Setting Facility Modifier Global Typical Low $1,698.24 Median $6,309.57 Typical High $15,488.17	Facility	Global	$1,698.24	$6,309.57	$15,488.17

What it costs in each state

The same service costs 7.3 times more in California than in Virginia. 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.

CA $10,309VA $1,407

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.