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

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

- Insurer: Independence Blue Cross
- Billing code: 473 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: 2026-08-31
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | 2 | $15,374.32 | $15,946.56 | $16,518.81 | $17,091.05 | $17,663.29 | $23,669.25 | 0.7x Medicare |
| New Jersey | 25 | $6,267.00 | $12,608.00 | $41,773.60 | $57,581.20 | $89,134.26 | $29,095.29 | 1.4x Medicare |
| Pennsylvania | 72 | $4,286.00 | $27,386.95 | $32,502.74 | $42,747.70 | $57,883.69 | $25,058.77 | 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/independence/statemap_473_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)