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Procedure price report · Laminectomy, excision intervertebral disc

Mid-back spinal decompression removing bony arch, one level

CPT 63046the billing code this page is about

Open surgery that removes the back part of a vertebra and surrounding bone at one thoracic segment to widen the spinal canal and relieve pressure on the cord or nerves.

Hospitals typically charge $5,250 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 464 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $6,268. Most fall between $2,570 and $12,366 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
464
States
46
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 464 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$1,770$2,889$5,250$10,472$17,382

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 9.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,770 vs $17,382).

How the prices are spread

$976 – $1,376: 12 hospitals$976$1,376 – $1,942: 18 hospitals$1,942 – $2,740: 54 hospitals$1,942$2,740 – $3,866: 60 hospitals$3,866 – $5,454: 69 hospitals$3,866$5,454 – $7,695: 31 hospitals$7,695 – $10,856: 88 hospitals$7,695$10,856 – $15,317: 32 hospitals$15,317 – $21,610: 43 hospitals$15,317$21,610 – $30,489: 11 hospitals$21,610median $5,250price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (418 of 464 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$976$1,37612
$1,376$1,94218
$1,942$2,74054
$2,740$3,86660
$3,866$5,45469
$5,454$7,69531
$7,695$10,85688
$10,856$15,31732
$15,317$21,61043
$21,610$30,48911

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$7,413
Median cash price$5,250
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.71×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $5,250.

Alaska: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: median $14,738 across 11 hospitalsID$14,738Montana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $8,331 across 21 hospitalsMN$8,331Illinois: median $2,518 across 19 hospitalsIL$2,518Wisconsin: median $5,250 across 27 hospitalsWI$5,250Michigan: median $4,609 across 31 hospitalsMI$4,609New York: median $8,454 across 33 hospitalsNY$8,454Massachusetts: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $3,983 across 11 hospitalsOR$3,983Nevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $2,938 across 20 hospitalsIA$2,938Indiana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $4,934 across 18 hospitalsOH$4,934Pennsylvania: median $10,468 across 13 hospitalsPA$10,468New Jersey: median $7,907 across 32 hospitalsNJ$7,907Connecticut: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $17,382 across 44 hospitalsCA$17,382Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: median $2,935 across 10 hospitalsNE$2,935Missouri: median $1,970 across 11 hospitalsMO$1,970Kentucky: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $2,571 across 13 hospitalsOK$2,571Louisiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $9,773 across 26 hospitalsTX$9,773Florida: median $4,934 across 10 hospitalsFL$4,934
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $5,250. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA44$17,382+231%$8,590 – $17,382
Idaho ID11$14,738+181%$6,592 – $14,738
Pennsylvania PA13$10,468+99%$5,050 – $14,613
Texas TX26$9,773+86%$6,210 – $10,637
New York NY33$8,454+61%$3,283 – $8,613
Minnesota MN21$8,331+59%$2,796 – $10,943
New Jersey NJ32$7,907+51%$5,110 – $9,993
Wisconsin WI27$5,2500%$5,250 – $15,280
Florida FL10$4,934−6%$1,997 – $15,852
Ohio OH18$4,934−6%$3,011 – $25,825
Michigan MI31$4,609−12%$2,102 – $9,978
Oregon OR11$3,983−24%$2,287 – $3,983
Iowa IA20$2,938−44%$2,296 – $2,938
Nebraska NE10$2,935−44%$1,770 – $3,967
Oklahoma OK13$2,571−51%$2,571 – $10,987
Illinois IL19$2,518−52%$962 – $32,322
Missouri MO11$1,970−62%$1,832 – $16,061
Arkansas AR7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $5,250.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care378$6,351$2,571 – $14,565
Children’s9fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access76$5,250$2,118 – $10,943
Ownership
For-profit51$7,090$2,571 – $15,280
Government63$3,821$2,296 – $13,516
Non-profit349$5,250$2,571 – $11,093
System affiliation
Part of a system372$5,835$2,796 – $13,516
Independent92$3,821$2,036 – $10,468

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$7,167
Median cash price$5,250
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

255 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $3,490 and the average of the middle 60% is $4,451; most fall between $2,022 and $9,773.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 255 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$1,087$2,183$3,490$8,590$14,738

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($1,087 vs $14,738).

Of the 288 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 255 gave a usable cash price; 24 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 9 a list price only.

How complete is this

464 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (12%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 524 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted464
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here49
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded9
Hospitals that filed this code524

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Laminectomy, excision intervertebral disc family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Lam Facetectomy & Foramotomy 1 Vrt Sgm Thoracic.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Mid-back spinal decompression removing bony arch, one level (CPT 63046) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-63046-mid-back-spinal-decompression-removing-bony-arch-one-level