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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Michigan 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?

$148

Typical negotiated rate. In Michigan, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $148 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $132 from a physician practice, and about $2,042 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$132$102 to $155
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$2,042$2,042 to $4,898

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,042 · 10th to 90th $245 to $4,898Professionalmedian $132 · 10th to 90th $100 to $166
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $2,042professional $132

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
$147.91
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$4,897.79
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$117.49
Typical High
$154.88
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$245.47
Median
$245.47
Typical High
$245.47
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$245.47
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$87.10
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$416.87
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$147.91
Median
$2,041.74
Typical High
$4,897.79
Health Alliance Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$173.78
Priority Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$416.87
Median
$416.87
Typical High
$416.87
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$562.34
Median
$1,621.81
Typical High
$4,265.80
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$190.55

Where Michigan 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.

Michigan· 40th of 51

$148

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.