Code 90480. Medicare covered 8,441,109 of these. Here is what providers billed and what Medicare allowed, state by state.
Providers in Armed Forces Europe billed the most for this, at $96.84. In Mississippi the average was $32.93. Same procedure code, same programme.
These are Medicare figures. The billed column is what providers asked for. The allowed column is what Medicare agreed to pay. Neither is what an uninsured patient gets charged, and neither is what a private insurer negotiates.
The gap between the two columns is the point. A hospital billing three times what Medicare allows tells you the billed number was never a price. It was an opening position.
| State | Billed | Medicare allowed | Gap | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed Forces Europe | $96.84 | $45.03 | 2.2x | 165 |
| Idaho | $87.02 | $42.79 | 2.0x | 661,844 |
| Armed Forces Pacific | $79.66 | $41.37 | 1.9x | 35 |
| Foreign Country | $73.63 | $43.15 | 1.7x | 19 |
| District of Columbia | $70.71 | $42.79 | 1.7x | 17,309 |
| Virgin Islands | $69.45 | $36.27 | 1.9x | 430 |
| Alaska | $55.71 | $41.46 | 1.3x | 17,803 |
| Arkansas | $55.69 | $30.34 | 1.8x | 63,010 |
| North Dakota | $55.50 | $36.02 | 1.5x | 23,296 |
| New York | $55.24 | $41.02 | 1.3x | 429,692 |
| Pennsylvania | $54.72 | $38.98 | 1.4x | 387,683 |
| West Virginia | $53.44 | $32.38 | 1.7x | 24,705 |
| California | $52.77 | $41.49 | 1.3x | 801,288 |
| Maryland | $51.67 | $41.09 | 1.3x | 232,688 |
| Wisconsin | $51.48 | $35.33 | 1.5x | 198,874 |
| Washington | $51.33 | $38.04 | 1.3x | 188,634 |
| Massachusetts | $50.94 | $40.87 | 1.2x | 350,463 |
| Delaware | $50.27 | $38.94 | 1.3x | 44,314 |
| New Jersey | $50.07 | $40.81 | 1.2x | 234,809 |
| North Carolina | $49.81 | $35.93 | 1.4x | 232,227 |
| Nebraska | $49.74 | $35.39 | 1.4x | 70,560 |
| Montana | $49.28 | $35.38 | 1.4x | 31,297 |
| Connecticut | $48.74 | $40.74 | 1.2x | 104,375 |
| Maine | $48.60 | $36.51 | 1.3x | 36,817 |
| Virginia | $47.98 | $37.51 | 1.3x | 279,480 |
| Guam | $47.44 | $44.00 | 1.1x | 412 |
| Illinois | $47.05 | $38.04 | 1.2x | 319,209 |
| Florida | $45.17 | $39.77 | 1.1x | 506,176 |
| Ohio | $44.53 | $35.22 | 1.3x | 265,730 |
| Hawaii | $44.51 | $40.43 | 1.1x | 45,892 |
| Rhode Island | $44.28 | $40.23 | 1.1x | 30,050 |
| Tennessee | $44.25 | $34.09 | 1.3x | 128,138 |
| Michigan | $44.09 | $36.47 | 1.2x | 180,381 |
| South Dakota | $44.06 | $33.31 | 1.3x | 30,346 |
| Kentucky | $44.03 | $32.83 | 1.3x | 84,864 |
| Oregon | $43.94 | $35.53 | 1.2x | 89,353 |
| Minnesota | $43.66 | $35.24 | 1.2x | 182,820 |
| Puerto Rico | $43.28 | $40.02 | 1.1x | 2,929 |
| Iowa | $42.82 | $36.12 | 1.2x | 157,611 |
| Colorado | $42.77 | $36.97 | 1.2x | 301,718 |
| Missouri | $42.69 | $34.45 | 1.2x | 142,644 |
| South Carolina | $42.56 | $35.60 | 1.2x | 139,324 |
| New Hampshire | $42.33 | $38.22 | 1.1x | 74,602 |
| Indiana | $41.99 | $35.17 | 1.2x | 172,345 |
| Louisiana | $41.93 | $33.23 | 1.3x | 41,348 |
| Georgia | $41.80 | $36.41 | 1.1x | 141,755 |
| Texas | $41.64 | $35.48 | 1.2x | 357,779 |
| New Mexico | $41.28 | $32.84 | 1.3x | 51,046 |
| Utah | $40.89 | $32.13 | 1.3x | 53,536 |
| Vermont | $40.37 | $35.41 | 1.1x | 34,996 |
| Alabama | $39.83 | $33.36 | 1.2x | 41,751 |
| Arizona | $39.21 | $35.55 | 1.1x | 142,043 |
| Wyoming | $38.90 | $32.03 | 1.2x | 15,354 |
| Kansas | $38.88 | $31.99 | 1.2x | 115,659 |
| Nevada | $36.27 | $34.36 | 1.1x | 48,970 |
| Oklahoma | $35.94 | $30.30 | 1.2x | 72,662 |
| Mississippi | $32.93 | $29.84 | 1.1x | 37,787 |
Source: CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, by Geography and Service. Weighted by service volume across places of service.