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

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

- Insurer: Regence BlueCross BlueShield
- Billing code: 473 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 47 | $17,125.78 | $28,424.11 | $36,473.62 | $51,451.15 | $59,208.67 | $16,551.61 | 2.2x Medicare |
| Oregon | 74 | $28,303.95 | $35,533.12 | $45,990.30 | $54,563.06 | $80,793.80 | $20,168.00 | 2.3x Medicare |
| Utah | 46 | $26,851.86 | $30,009.58 | $33,567.88 | $41,600.01 | $59,763.02 |  |  |
| Washington | 44 | $15,708.83 | $40,241.07 | $49,271.79 | $60,141.99 | $81,308.07 | $22,918.38 | 2.1x 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/regence/statemap_473_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)