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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Minnesota 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?

$275

Typical negotiated rate. In Minnesota, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $275 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $257 from a physician practice, and about $661 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$257$200 to $355
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$661$309 to $1,259

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $661 · 10th to 90th $214 to $2,512Professionalmedian $257 · 10th to 90th $145 to $437
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $661professional $257

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
$102.33
Median
$102.33
Typical High
$1,071.52
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$107.15
Typical High
$588.84
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$660.69
Median
$1,513.56
Typical High
$3,162.28
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$275.42
Typical High
$426.58
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$371.54
Typical High
$1,023.29
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$208.93
Median
$323.59
Typical High
$489.78
Health Partners
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$288.40
Median
$407.38
Typical High
$812.83
Health Partners
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$275.42
Typical High
$416.87
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$2,951.21
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$128.82
Median
$218.78
Typical High
$602.56
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$5,370.32
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$128.82
Median
$239.88
Typical High
$426.58

Where Minnesota 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.

Minnesota· 10th of 51

$275

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.