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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Georgia 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?

$200

Typical negotiated rate. In Georgia, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $200 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $155 from a physician practice, and about $2,754 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 5 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$155$117 to $200
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$2,754$1,288 to $4,467

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,754 · 10th to 90th $631 to $7,079Professionalmedian $155 · 10th to 90th $102 to $275
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,754professional $155

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
$173.78
Median
$3,630.78
Typical High
$9,549.93
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$125.89
Typical High
$275.42
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$794.33
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$4,168.69
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$173.78
Typical High
$239.88
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$467.74
Median
$467.74
Typical High
$467.74
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$177.83
Typical High
$323.59
Kaiser Permanente
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$257.04
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$426.58
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$3,311.31
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$269.15

Where Georgia 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.

Georgia· 22nd of 51

$200

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.