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Vertebral Body Removal to Free the Spinal Cord

Massachusetts rates for HCPCS 63102

Removal of part or all of a vertebral body at one level of the back, taking pressure off the spinal cord and the nerve roots leaving it. It is used when bone, a tumor, an infection, or a collapsed vertebra is pressing on the cord from the front. Restoring support to the spine where the bone was taken out is handled as a separate part of the operation.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Vertebral Body Removal to Free the Spinal Cord cost?

$5,892

Typical total for the visit. In Massachusetts, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $5,892 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $3,548 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,344 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 9 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$3,548$2,818 to $6,166
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,344$794 to $3,311

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,344 · 10th to 90th $407 to $4,169Professionalmedian $3,548 · 10th to 90th $2,291 to $15,488
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,344professional $3,548

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,691.53
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$5,623.41
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,290.87
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$6,165.95
AllWays Health Partners
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$346.74
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$5,623.41
AllWays Health Partners
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,290.87
Median
$5,370.32
Typical High
$15,488.17
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$50.12
Median
$741.31
Typical High
$1,000.00
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,162.28
Median
$3,162.28
Typical High
$5,888.44
Fallon Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$3,630.78
Fallon Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$3,548.13
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$4,073.80
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$4,786.30
Typical High
$6,918.31
Mass General Brigham
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$346.74
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$5,623.41
Mass General Brigham
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,290.87
Median
$5,370.32
Typical High
$15,488.17
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$4,073.80
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$3,467.37
Typical High
$10,232.93
Well Sense
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$3,467.37
Well Sense
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$2,137.96
7 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$1,148.15
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$3,090.30
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$467.74
Median
$467.74
Typical High
$1,230.27
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,737.80
Median
$1,737.80
Typical High
$4,677.35
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$346.74
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$933.25
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$229.09
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$616.60
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,621.81
Median
$1,621.81
Typical High
$4,365.16
BCBS Massachusetts
Setting
Professional
Modifier
82 · Assistant surgeon, no resident
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$870.96

Where Massachusetts sits

The same service costs 13.8 times more in Maine than in Texas. 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

Massachusetts· 23rd of 51

$5,892

$3,548 physician + $2,344 facility

ME $35,114TX $2,545

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.