# Spinal fusion, lower back (hospital stay): what Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana pays, by state

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

- Insurer: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana (HCSC)
- Billing code: 460 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: 2026-09-12
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 12 | $33,060.84 | $36,077.34 | $57,177.23 | $78,684.62 | $78,684.62 | $34,730.79 | 1.6x Medicare |
| Montana | 63 | $45,500.00 | $74,999.99 | $79,999.99 | $89,999.99 | $105,890.40 | $31,215.23 | 2.6x Medicare |
| Texas | 638 | $12,928.13 | $31,523.13 | $45,211.64 | $64,079.09 | $128,505.68 | $29,932.15 | 1.5x 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/hcsc/statemap_460_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)