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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Colorado 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?

$2,138

Typical negotiated rate. In Colorado, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,138 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $135 from a physician practice, and about $3,311 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 7 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 $170
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$3,311$2,570 to $5,495

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,311 · 10th to 90th $316 to $7,586Professionalmedian $135 · 10th to 90th $110 to $355
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $3,311professional $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
$109.65
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$7,762.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$114.82
Typical High
$1,148.15
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,454.71
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$8,511.38
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$218.78
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$123.03
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$269.15
Denver HMP
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$199.53
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$794.33
Select Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$229.09
Select Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$75.86
Median
$112.20
Typical High
$165.96
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,174.90
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$3,890.45
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$123.03
Median
$165.96
Typical High
$281.84

Where Colorado 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.

Colorado· 2nd of 51

$2,138

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.