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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Iowa 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?

$263

Typical negotiated rate. In Iowa, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $263 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $186 from a physician practice, and about $2,512 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$186$141 to $302
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$2,512$1,549 to $4,266

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,512 · 10th to 90th $219 to $6,761Professionalmedian $186 · 10th to 90th $102 to $646
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,512professional $186

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
$602.56
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$7,943.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$645.65
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$239.88
Median
$263.03
Typical High
$302.00
Hally Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$426.58
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$190.55
Median
$691.83
Typical High
$3,548.13
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$123.03
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$794.33
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$218.78
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$346.74
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$213.80
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$346.74
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$4,073.80
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$331.13
Wellmark
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$173.78
Median
$223.87
Typical High
$263.03

Where Iowa 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.

Iowa· 12th of 51

$263

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.