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Vertebral Body Removal to Free the Spinal Cord

South Carolina 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?

$3,361

Typical total for the visit. In South Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,361 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,239 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,122 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$2,239$759 to $2,630
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,122$603 to $4,365

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,122 · 10th to 90th $437 to $8,511Professionalmedian $2,239 · 10th to 90th $302 to $3,162
$100$500$2K$10Kfacility $1,122professional $2,239

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
$9,120.11
Typical High
$22,908.68
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$2,691.53
Typical High
$2,691.53
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,041.74
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$3,162.28
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$794.33
Typical High
$1,905.46
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,454.71
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$4,073.80
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,905.46
Median
$2,691.53
Typical High
$6,165.95
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,570.40
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$3,090.30
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$269.15
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$3,090.30
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$416.87
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$8,709.64
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$3,801.89
11 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
$1,096.48
Median
$1,318.26
Typical High
$1,318.26
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$436.52
Median
$537.03
Typical High
$537.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,659.59
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$1,995.26
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$398.11
Typical High
$398.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$218.78
Median
$269.15
Typical High
$269.15
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,548.82
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$1,862.09
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$1,548.82
Typical High
$1,995.26
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
80 · Assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$537.03
Median
$616.60
Typical High
$812.83
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
81 · Minimal assistant surgeon
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$562.34
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
82 · Assistant surgeon, no resident
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$562.34
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
AS · PA/NP assist
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$562.34

Where South Carolina 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

South Carolina· 45th of 51

$3,361

$2,239 physician + $1,122 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.