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Lab Step To Remove Calcium From A Tissue Sample

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 88311

This is an added laboratory step performed on a tissue sample that contains bone or other hard, calcium-containing material, chemically softening it so it can be thinly sliced and examined under a microscope. It is billed alongside the main examination of the tissue sample, not on its own.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Lab Step To Remove Calcium From A Tissue Sample cost?

$16.60

Typical negotiated rate. In North Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $16.60 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $16.60 from a physician practice, and about $17.38 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$16.60$16.22 to $26.30
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$17.38$16.22 to $29.51

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $17 · 10th to 90th $3 to $38Professionalmedian $17 · 10th to 90th $14 to $35
$5$20$100$500facility $17professional $17

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
$2.57
Median
$16.60
Typical High
$30.90
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$7.94
Median
$9.77
Typical High
$18.62
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$5.25
Median
$6.76
Typical High
$12.30
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14.13
Median
$16.22
Typical High
$33.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$9.55
Median
$11.22
Typical High
$34.67
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$5.89
Median
$6.46
Typical High
$14.45
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$5.50
Median
$13.18
Typical High
$21.88
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$10.47
Median
$10.47
Typical High
$10.47
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$10.96
Median
$19.05
Typical High
$23.44
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$6.17
Median
$6.92
Typical High
$10.00
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$15.14
Typical High
$31.62
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$5.62
Median
$8.51
Typical High
$20.89
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$2.57
Median
$4.17
Typical High
$12.30
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$30.20
Median
$30.20
Typical High
$32.36
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$21.88
Median
$21.88
Typical High
$22.91
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$16.22
Median
$23.44
Typical High
$38.02
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3.63
Median
$3.63
Typical High
$3.63
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$11.48
Median
$19.50
Typical High
$43.65
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$6.92
Median
$12.30
Typical High
$30.90
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$3.89
Median
$5.75
Typical High
$14.13
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$131.83
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$100.00
Typical High
$100.00
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$100.00
Typical High
$100.00
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$131.83
Typical High
$169.82
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
26 · Professional part
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$100.00
Typical High
$100.00
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
TC · Technical part
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$100.00
Typical High
$100.00

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 3.9 times more in South Dakota than in Alabama. 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.

North Carolina· 45th of 51

$16.60

SD $58.88AL $15.14

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.