# Spinal fusion, lower back (hospital stay): what Kaiser Permanente pays, by state

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

- Insurer: Kaiser Permanente
- Billing code: 460 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: 2026-09-01
- 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 | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $26,704.51 | 3.3x Medicare |
| Arizona | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $31,835.70 | 2.7x Medicare |
| California | 8 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $91,343.84 | $103,652.59 | $44,401.37 | 2.0x Medicare |
| Colorado | 2 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $33,087.47 | 2.6x Medicare |
| Florida | 3 | $87,240.92 | $95,446.76 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $29,337.32 | 3.5x Medicare |
| Georgia | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $33,354.09 | 2.6x Medicare |
| Maryland | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $52,847.18 | 1.6x Medicare |
| Massachusetts | 2 | $87,240.92 | $91,343.84 | $95,446.76 | $99,549.67 | $103,652.59 | $38,887.37 | 2.5x Medicare |
| Michigan | 1 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $30,829.40 | 3.4x Medicare |
| Minnesota | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $37,289.92 | 2.3x Medicare |
| Montana | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $31,215.23 | 2.8x Medicare |
| Nebraska | 1 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $27,828.63 | 3.7x Medicare |
| Nevada | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $34,564.55 | 2.5x Medicare |
| New Jersey | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $36,872.79 | 2.4x Medicare |
| New Mexico | 1 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $35,210.07 | 2.9x Medicare |
| New York | 2 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $46,978.43 | 1.9x Medicare |
| North Carolina | 1 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $30,522.63 | 3.4x Medicare |
| Ohio | 3 | $87,240.92 | $95,446.76 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $30,574.83 | 3.4x Medicare |
| Oregon | 3 | $87,240.92 | $95,446.76 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $37,944.17 | 2.7x Medicare |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $32,283.93 | 2.7x Medicare |
| Rhode Island | 2 | $87,240.92 | $91,343.84 | $95,446.76 | $99,549.67 | $103,652.59 | $37,152.45 | 2.6x Medicare |
| Texas | 4 | $87,240.92 | $99,549.67 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $29,932.15 | 3.5x Medicare |
| Utah | 2 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $32,403.27 | 2.7x Medicare |
| Virginia | 1 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $32,891.48 | 2.6x Medicare |
| Washington | 517 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $87,240.92 | $103,652.59 | $40,125.71 | 2.2x Medicare |
| Wisconsin | 3 | $87,240.92 | $95,446.76 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $103,652.59 | $32,991.69 | 3.1x 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/kaiser/statemap_460_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)