# Spinal fusion, lower back (hospital stay): what Sentara Health Plans pays, by state

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

- Insurer: Sentara Health Plans
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 4 | $42,801.98 | $51,145.00 | $53,907.06 | $57,391.36 | $64,928.75 | $28,966.59 | 1.9x Medicare |
| Virginia | 40 | $24,510.00 | $45,534.00 | $51,805.00 | $62,342.00 | $120,118.00 | $32,891.48 | 1.6x 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/sentara/statemap_460_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)