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Keyhole Muscle Release of the Lower Food Pipe

Nebraska rates for HCPCS 43279

A keyhole operation through small abdominal incisions in which the tight muscle ring at the junction of the food pipe and the stomach is cut lengthways so food and drink can pass through. It treats a swallowing disorder in which that muscle fails to relax, leaving food stuck and coming back up. A wrap of the top of the stomach is added when needed to reduce acid reflux afterwards.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Keyhole Muscle Release of the Lower Food Pipe cost?

$8,442

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $8,442 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,818 to the doctor who performs it, and $5,623 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 7 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$2,818$2,291 to $3,162
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$5,623$2,818 to $10,000

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $5,623 · 10th to 90th $1,698 to $16,218Professionalmedian $2,818 · 10th to 90th $1,778 to $5,370
$100$500$2K$10Kfacility $5,623professional $2,818

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
$1,122.02
Median
$7,943.28
Typical High
$21,877.62
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,122.02
Median
$1,122.02
Typical High
$1,584.89
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$2,630.27
Typical High
$2,630.27
BCBS Nebraska
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$11,481.54
Median
$15,135.61
Typical High
$30,902.95
BCBS Nebraska
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,467.37
Median
$5,011.87
Typical High
$5,128.61
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,089.30
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$3,467.37
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$8,128.31
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$9,332.54
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,290.87
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$3,801.89
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,290.87
Median
$2,818.38
Typical High
$3,801.89
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$8,317.64
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$2,570.40
Typical High
$3,311.31
2 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
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$851.14
Typical High
$1,023.29
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$794.33
Median
$794.33
Typical High
$954.99

Where Nebraska sits

The same service costs 14.3 times more in Maine than in Delaware. 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

Nebraska· 14th of 51

$8,442

$2,818 physician + $5,623 facility

ME $48,433DE $3,397

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.