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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Montana 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?

$200

Typical negotiated rate. In Montana, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $200 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $195 from a physician practice, and about $200 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$195$166 to $229
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$200$186 to $209

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $200 · 10th to 90th $178 to $229Professionalmedian $195 · 10th to 90th $115 to $589
$100$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $200professional $195

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
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$588.84
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$181.97
Typical High
$181.97
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$181.97
Typical High
$181.97
MountainHealth Co-op
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$229.09
MountainHealth Co-op
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$229.09
Providence
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$199.53
Providence
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$79.43
Median
$117.49
Typical High
$251.19
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$141.25
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$141.25
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$147.91
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$281.84

Where Montana 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.

Montana· 24th of 51

$200

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.