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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Tennessee 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 Tennessee, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $170 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $135 from a physician practice, and about $1,514 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$135$115 to $166
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$1,514$955 to $2,399

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,514 · 10th to 90th $468 to $3,981Professionalmedian $135 · 10th to 90th $100 to $427
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,514professional $135

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
$467.74
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$4,073.80
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$169.82
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$676.08
Median
$1,445.44
Typical High
$2,041.74
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$117.49
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$251.19
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$489.78
Median
$489.78
Typical High
$489.78
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$239.88
Lucent Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$54.95
Median
$2,187.76
Typical High
$2,187.76
Lucent Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$794.33
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,023.29
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$2,691.53
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$239.88

Where Tennessee 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.

Tennessee· 35th 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.