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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Kentucky 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?

$117

Typical negotiated rate. In Kentucky, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $117 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $110 from a physician practice, and about $1,995 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 6 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$110$102 to $151
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$1,995$398 to $8,511

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,995 · 10th to 90th $107 to $10,715Professionalmedian $110 · 10th to 90th $91 to $257
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,995professional $110

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
$107.15
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$8,511.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$91.20
Median
$102.33
Typical High
$316.23
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3,801.89
Median
$10,715.19
Typical High
$11,220.18
Anthem BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$91.20
Median
$109.65
Typical High
$169.82
CareSource
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$97.72
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$169.82
CareSource
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$173.78
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$34.67
Median
$194.98
Typical High
$194.98
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$181.97
Typical High
$794.33
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$32.36
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$33.11
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$1,445.44
Typical High
$2,630.27
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$138.04
Typical High
$218.78

Where Kentucky 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.

Kentucky· 49th of 51

$117

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.