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Bile Duct Exam With Biopsy Via Existing Drainage Tract

Alabama rates for HCPCS 47553

Using a thin scope passed through an existing drainage tract in the abdomen, a doctor examines the bile ducts, the channels that carry bile from the liver to the intestine, and takes a tissue sample for testing. This approach works through a tract that is already in place from a prior drainage procedure, rather than requiring a new access point. It helps identify the cause of a bile duct blockage or abnormality.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Bile Duct Exam With Biopsy Via Existing Drainage Tract cost?

$6,521

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $6,521 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $355 to the doctor who performs it, and $6,166 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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$355$309 to $562
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$6,166$3,467 to $6,310

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $6,166 · 10th to 90th $1,738 to $6,310Professionalmedian $355 · 10th to 90th $251 to $562
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $6,166professional $355

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
$776.25
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$2,398.83
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$562.34
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$562.34
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$6,165.95
Median
$6,309.57
Typical High
$6,309.57
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
21 + 22 · Increased work + 24 · Unrelated visit after surgery
Typical Low
$323.59
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$478.63
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$3,162.28
Typical High
$3,981.07
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$338.84
Median
$354.81
Typical High
$457.09
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$8,511.38
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$213.80
Median
$281.84
Typical High
$575.44
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
$281.84
Median
$281.84
Typical High
$281.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$114.82
Typical High
$114.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$426.58
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$426.58
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$85.11
Median
$85.11
Typical High
$85.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$56.23
Typical High
$56.23

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 10.4 times more in Wyoming than in Montana. 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

Alabama· 7th of 51

$6,521

$355 physician + $6,166 facility

WY $8,979MT $863

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.