# Spinal fusion, lower back (hospital stay): what Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield pays, by state

The whole hospital stay for a lower-back spinal fusion, without major complications.

- Insurer: Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Billing code: 460 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: unknown
- All of the insurer's plans pooled; the map also shows single networks

| State | Providers | Lowest | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Highest | Medicare pays | Median vs Medicare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 24 | $21,581.61 | $32,555.31 | $35,726.71 | $48,028.23 | $206,901.80 | $25,680.05 | 1.4x Medicare |
| Missouri | 2 | $27,800.04 | $28,165.83 | $28,531.62 | $28,897.41 | $29,263.20 | $30,376.07 | 0.9x Medicare |
| Oklahoma | 2 | $13,325.73 | $13,377.86 | $13,429.98 | $13,482.11 | $13,534.23 | $25,856.81 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Tennessee | 2 | $44,626.38 | $44,626.38 | $44,626.38 | $44,626.38 | $44,626.38 | $28,966.59 | 1.5x Medicare |
| Texas | 1 | $35,975.45 | $35,975.45 | $35,975.45 | $35,975.45 | $35,975.45 | $29,932.15 | 1.2x Medicare |

**“x Medicare”** compares each price with what original Medicare actually paid hospitals in the same state for the same kind of stay in 2024, the newest year it has published: the average per stay, the patient’s share included, at hospitals with more than ten such stays. Medicare’s payment varies by hospital (wages, teaching, low-income patients), so this is a state average, not any one hospital’s rate. Insurers write their contracts as a share of Medicare, so 1.3x means the insurer pays 30% more than Medicare would; Medicare Advantage plans generally pay close to 1.0x.

Prices are what the insurer has agreed to pay, not what you will be billed. This is a statewide summary: prices vary far more between towns and between practices than these medians suggest, and "providers" counts everyone with a contracted price, not only those who perform the procedure.

Map: https://medicalpricetransparency.netlify.app/insurers/arkbcbs/statemap_460_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)