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Bile Duct Exam With Biopsy Via Existing Drainage Tract

North Carolina 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?

$3,204

Typical total for the visit. In North Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,204 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $513 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,692 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$513$355 to $776
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,692$1,622 to $5,370

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,692 · 10th to 90th $646 to $10,471Professionalmedian $513 · 10th to 90th $339 to $933
$500$1K$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $2,692professional $513

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
$269.15
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$8,317.64
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$269.15
Typical High
$346.74
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,548.82
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$3,090.30
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$354.81
Median
$588.84
Typical High
$954.99
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$645.65
Median
$4,466.84
Typical High
$6,760.83
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$363.08
Median
$389.05
Typical High
$602.56
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$562.34
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$616.60
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$575.44
Median
$977.24
Typical High
$3,548.13
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$436.52
Typical High
$524.81
Oscar Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$426.58
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$446.68
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,380.38
Median
$4,265.80
Typical High
$17,782.79
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$263.03
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$575.44
7 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
$134.90
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$165.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$53.70
Median
$53.70
Typical High
$66.07
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$245.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$40.74
Median
$40.74
Typical High
$50.12
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$26.92
Median
$26.92
Typical High
$33.11
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$616.60
Typical High
$1,778.28
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$316.23

Where North Carolina 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

North Carolina· 41st of 51

$3,204

$513 physician + $2,692 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.