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First Fluid Tap Through An Infant's Soft Spot

Utah 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?

$200

Typical negotiated rate. In Utah, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $200 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $151 from a physician practice, and about $3,162 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 7 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$151$138 to $257
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$3,162$2,239 to $4,169

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,162 · 10th to 90th $151 to $4,571Professionalmedian $151 · 10th to 90th $107 to $355
$50$100$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $3,162professional $151

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
$151.36
Median
$3,162.28
Typical High
$4,570.88
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$354.81
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$134.90
Median
$158.49
Typical High
$245.47
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$32.36
Median
$33.11
Typical High
$323.59
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,000.00
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$2,089.30
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$173.78
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$295.12
Select Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$275.42
Median
$275.42
Typical High
$275.42
Select Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$97.72
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$288.40
U of Utah Health Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$190.55
Typical High
$275.42
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$660.69
Median
$2,818.38
Typical High
$5,128.61
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$107.15
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$234.42

Where Utah 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.

Utah· 23rd of 51

$200

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.