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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

North Carolina 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?

$170

Typical negotiated rate. In North Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $170 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $155 from a physician practice, and about $708 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$155$115 to $275
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$708$166 to $4,266

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $708 · 10th to 90th $110 to $6,457Professionalmedian $155 · 10th to 90th $110 to $347
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $708professional $155

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
$109.65
Median
$1,380.38
Typical High
$7,585.78
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$123.03
Typical High
$363.08
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$234.42
Typical High
$302.00
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$288.40
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$223.87
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$162.18
Median
$162.18
Typical High
$309.03
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$912.01
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$4,365.16
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$251.19
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$2,187.76
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$794.33
Median
$794.33
Typical High
$1,023.29

Where North Carolina 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.

North Carolina· 36th of 51

$170

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.