# Neck spinal fusion (hospital stay): what Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield pays, by state

The whole hospital stay for a cervical (neck) spinal fusion, without complications.

- Insurer: Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Billing code: 473 (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 | $14,517.54 | $21,899.34 | $24,032.68 | $32,307.68 | $139,178.92 | $15,672.20 | 1.5x Medicare |
| Missouri | 2 | $18,700.56 | $18,946.62 | $19,192.68 | $19,438.74 | $19,684.80 | $22,301.28 | 0.9x Medicare |
| Oklahoma | 2 | $8,963.97 | $8,999.03 | $9,034.09 | $9,069.16 | $9,104.22 | $16,804.73 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Tennessee | 2 | $30,019.32 | $30,019.32 | $30,019.32 | $30,019.32 | $30,019.32 | $17,290.35 | 1.7x Medicare |
| Texas | 1 | $24,200.00 | $24,200.00 | $24,200.00 | $24,200.00 | $24,200.00 | $18,395.15 | 1.3x 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_473_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)