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

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

- Insurer: Medica
- Billing code: 460 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: 2026-10-01
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 1 | $2,148.00 | $2,148.00 | $2,148.00 | $2,148.00 | $2,148.00 | $25,680.05 | 0.1x Medicare |
| Illinois | 1 | $4,800.00 | $4,800.00 | $4,800.00 | $4,800.00 | $4,800.00 | $34,730.79 | 0.1x Medicare |
| Iowa | 14 | $5,944.00 | $11,838.00 | $12,761.00 | $14,824.00 | $23,642.00 | $28,493.36 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Kansas | 9 | $1,281.00 | $1,281.00 | $1,281.00 | $5,747.00 | $10,376.00 | $25,969.71 | 0.1x Medicare |
| Minnesota | 27 | $7,222.00 | $13,151.26 | $16,828.63 | $18,771.43 | $24,690.17 | $37,289.92 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Missouri | 26 | $5,390.00 | $8,826.50 | $10,772.00 | $11,829.00 | $16,186.00 | $30,376.07 | 0.3x Medicare |
| Nebraska | 16 | $10,511.47 | $14,891.50 | $17,226.00 | $20,239.00 | $23,487.00 | $27,828.63 | 0.6x Medicare |
| North Dakota | 4 | $6,025.42 | $13,224.00 | $14,890.19 | $15,816.00 | $16,544.66 | $31,382.37 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Oklahoma | 27 | $2,419.00 | $5,982.00 | $8,550.18 | $8,550.18 | $11,272.00 | $25,856.81 | 0.3x Medicare |
| South Dakota | 1 | $14,323.00 | $14,323.00 | $14,323.00 | $14,323.00 | $14,323.00 | $28,730.67 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Wisconsin | 3 | $9,978.00 | $10,579.00 | $11,180.00 | $11,465.00 | $11,750.00 | $32,991.69 | 0.3x 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/medica/statemap_460_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)