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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Arkansas rates for HCPCS 61000

A needle is passed through the soft spot or a suture line on a baby's skull to draw off fluid or blood that has collected between the brain and its covering. This is the first such tap, relieving pressure on the developing brain and providing a sample for testing. It is done at the bedside and takes only a few minutes.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot cost?

$191

Typical negotiated rate. In Arkansas, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $191 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $135 from a physician practice, and about $794 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

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.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$135$110 to $148
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$794$661 to $1,318

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $794 · 10th to 90th $138 to $1,820Professionalmedian $135 · 10th to 90th $110 to $191
$100$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $794professional $135

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
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$1,000.00
Typical High
$1,862.09
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$190.55
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$660.69
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$891.25
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$213.80
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$724.44
Median
$724.44
Typical High
$724.44
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$251.19
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$363.08
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$2,041.74
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$120.23
Typical High
$223.87

Where Arkansas sits

The same service costs 29.5 times more in California 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.

Arkansas· 30th of 51

$191

CA $3,162DE $107

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.