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Spinal Fluid Tap At The Base Of The Skull

Alabama rates for HCPCS 61050

Withdrawal of spinal fluid using a needle placed at the base of the skull or in the upper neck rather than in the lower back. It is used when the usual lower-back route is not possible or has failed, for example because of scarring, infection at the site, or a blockage in the spinal canal. The fluid is sent for testing or drawn off to relieve pressure.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Spinal Fluid Tap At The Base Of The Skull cost?

$902

Typical total for the visit. In Alabama, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $902 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $126 to the doctor who performs it, and $776 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$126$83.18 to $126
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$776$603 to $1,096

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $776 · 10th to 90th $407 to $1,585Professionalmedian $126 · 10th to 90th $78 to $191
$100$200$500$1K$2Kfacility $776professional $126

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
$562.34
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$2,398.83
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$77.62
Median
$125.89
Typical High
$190.55
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$724.44
Typical High
$954.99
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$102.33
Median
$138.04
Typical High
$151.36
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$81.28
Median
$141.25
Typical High
$309.03
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$239.88
Median
$588.84
Typical High
$1,348.96
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$66.07
Median
$93.33
Typical High
$173.78

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 36.8 times more in New Jersey than in West Virginia. 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.

Physician feeFacility fee

Alabama· 34th of 49

$902

$126 physician + $776 facility

NJ $5,593WV $152

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.