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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

South 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?

$132

Typical negotiated rate. In South Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $132 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $132 from a physician practice, and about $2,951 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$132$110 to $141
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$2,951$776 to $6,310

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,951 · 10th to 90th $132 to $16,596Professionalmedian $132 · 10th to 90th $102 to $234
$50$200$1K$5K$20Kfacility $2,951professional $132

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
$131.83
Median
$5,888.44
Typical High
$22,908.68
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$147.91
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$3,162.28
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$109.65
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$251.19
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$467.74
Median
$467.74
Typical High
$467.74
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$288.40
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$269.15
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$32.36
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$33.11
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$691.83
Median
$3,630.78
Typical High
$7,762.47
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$128.82
Typical High
$218.78

Where South 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.

South Carolina· 43rd of 51

$132

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.