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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

New Jersey 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?

$162

Typical negotiated rate. In New Jersey, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $162 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $123 from a physician practice, and about $5,623 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$123$107 to $200
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$5,623$3,890 to $7,762

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $5,623 · 10th to 90th $2,291 to $10,715Professionalmedian $123 · 10th to 90th $98 to $4,266
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $5,623professional $123

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
$2,570.40
Median
$5,888.44
Typical High
$10,964.78
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$117.49
Typical High
$5,888.44
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$181.97
Typical High
$524.81
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$125.89
Median
$169.82
Typical High
$213.80
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,445.44
Median
$2,238.72
Typical High
$3,235.94
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$125.89
Typical High
$446.68
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$3,467.37
Typical High
$6,760.83
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$97.72
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$245.47

Where New Jersey 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.

New Jersey· 37th of 51

$162

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.