# Neck spinal fusion (hospital stay): what BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee pays, by state

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

- Insurer: BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
- Billing code: 473 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: 2026-09-27
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3 | $27,329.33 | $28,049.81 | $28,876.53 | $30,293.07 | $30,489.67 | $16,110.44 | 1.8x Medicare |
| Arkansas | 1 | $22,808.63 | $23,817.91 | $25,784.58 | $32,007.56 | $45,785.79 | $15,672.20 | 1.6x Medicare |
| Georgia | 1 | $43,582.84 | $43,582.84 | $43,582.84 | $43,582.84 | $43,582.84 | $21,251.42 | 2.0x Medicare |
| Mississippi | 3 | $22,808.63 | $25,784.58 | $29,307.60 | $38,157.27 | $48,589.55 | $17,753.85 | 1.6x Medicare |
| Tennessee | 97 | $18,561.48 | $28,402.72 | $33,759.91 | $42,969.87 | $200,002.38 | $17,290.35 | 1.9x 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/bcbstn/statemap_473_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)