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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Louisiana 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?

$661

Typical negotiated rate. In Louisiana, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $661 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $170 from a physician practice, and about $1,288 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$170$126 to $186
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$1,288$813 to $2,570

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,288 · 10th to 90th $407 to $3,467Professionalmedian $170 · 10th to 90th $110 to $229
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,288professional $170

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
$478.63
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$3,715.35
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$229.09
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$467.74
Median
$812.83
Typical High
$1,445.44
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$186.21
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$158.49
Typical High
$239.88
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$338.84
Median
$1,096.48
Typical High
$2,290.87
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$97.72
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$239.88

Where Louisiana 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.

Louisiana· 5th of 51

$661

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.