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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

North Dakota 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?

$224

Typical negotiated rate. In North Dakota, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $224 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $229 from a physician practice, and about $107 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$229$135 to $263
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$107$107 to $1,995

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $107 · 10th to 90th $102 to $8,511Professionalmedian $229 · 10th to 90th $107 to $295
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $107professional $229

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
$107.15
Typical High
$8,511.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$107.15
Typical High
$107.15
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$295.12
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$199.53
Typical High
$323.59
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$316.23
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$229.09
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$2,041.74
Typical High
$2,041.74
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$257.04

Where North Dakota 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 Dakota· 17th of 51

$224

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.