Level 3 Musculoskeletal Procedures
In 2024, Medicare and patients paid an average of $2,995 per procedure at 2,123 hospitals. Half of hospitals averaged between $2,769 and $3,147.
Also known as: Orthopedic surgery, arthroscopy, outpatient joint surgery
National figures, 2024
- Average payment per case
- $2,995
- Typical range (middle half of hospitals)
- $2,769–$3,147
- Medicare’s share
- $2,373
- Average billed charge
- $23,965
- Hospitals reporting
- 2,123
Compare hospitals
Narrow by a state, city or ZIP code (optionally a distance around it), and/or pick specific hospitals. With both, your picks are added to the area’s hospitals.
2,119 hospitals reported at least 11 Medicare procedures for this in 2024; showing 1,301–1,350. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhart General Hospital | 28 | $2,989 | About average | $2,381 | $14,542 |
| Parkview Regional Medical Center | 36 | $2,989 | About average | $2,378 | $27,132 |
| Carolina East Medical Center | 175 | $2,989 | About average | $2,376 | $15,343 |
| Ottumwa Regional Health Center | 12 | $2,989 | About average | $2,382 | $18,759 |
| Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center | 180 | $2,990 | About average | $2,376 | $17,979 |
| Wellspan Surgery And Rehabilitation Hospital | 29 | $2,990 | About average | $2,382 | $29,264 |
| Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital | 27 | $2,990 | About average | $2,364 | $17,032 |
| AdventHealth Littleton | 26 | $2,991 | About average | $2,364 | $19,621 |
| Colleton Medical Center | 24 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $23,086 |
| CGH Medical Center | 22 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $27,378 |
| Decatur Memorial Hospital | 108 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $19,403 |
| OSF Saint Anthony's Health Center | 14 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $25,518 |
| St Josephs Hospital | 20 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $17,327 |
| Good Samaritan Regional Health Center | 24 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $24,889 |
| Heartland Regional Medical Center | 41 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $42,082 |
| St Marys Hospital | 28 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $21,349 |
| Trinity Rock Island | 33 | $2,991 | About average | $2,383 | $12,888 |
| Carle Bromenn Medical Center | 24 | $2,992 | About average | $2,376 | $13,840 |
| Carle Health Pekin Hospital | 22 | $2,992 | About average | $2,375 | $30,829 |
| Methodist Fremont Health | 51 | $2,992 | About average | $2,376 | $10,550 |
| Dunes Surgical Hospital | 113 | $2,992 | About average | $2,372 | $20,810 |
| University Of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics Authority | 163 | $2,994 | About average | $2,373 | $18,079 |
| Aurora Memorial Hospital Burlington | 49 | $2,995 | About average | $2,373 | $22,694 |
| NorthShore University HealthSystem - Evanston Hospital | 189 | $2,997 | About average | $2,383 | $19,605 |
| Centura Health-St Anthony North Health Campus | 16 | $2,997 | About average | $2,371 | $19,567 |
| Parkview Medical Center, Inc | 59 | $2,998 | About average | $2,368 | $30,253 |
| Trinity Health Muskegon Hospital | 43 | $3,000 | About average | $2,380 | $19,131 |
| Mayo Clinic Hospital | 235 | $3,001 | About average | $2,386 | $18,042 |
| CHI St Lukes Lakeside Hospital | 40 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $16,694 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake | 29 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $66,168 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood | 54 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $76,004 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball | 39 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $82,222 |
| Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital | 29 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $25,990 |
| St Luke's Sugar Land Hospital | 11 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $25,183 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest | 13 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $118,152 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare West | 21 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $87,717 |
| Oakbend Medical Center | 17 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $42,946 |
| St Luke's Patients Medical Center | 18 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $17,828 |
| St Luke's The Woodlands Hospital | 15 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $26,883 |
| University Of Texas Medical Branch Galveston | 57 | $3,001 | About average | $2,391 | $22,748 |
| Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital | 92 | $3,001 | About average | $2,388 | $52,048 |
| Avera St Lukes | 74 | $3,002 | About average | $2,385 | $18,201 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast | 11 | $3,002 | About average | $2,357 | $50,229 |
| Palos Community Hospital | 69 | $3,002 | About average | $2,378 | $26,378 |
| Great Falls Clinic Hospital | 78 | $3,004 | About average | $2,382 | $23,223 |
| Ngmc Barrow, LLC | 26 | $3,004 | About average | $2,393 | $43,557 |
| Piedmont Mountainside Hospital Inc | 20 | $3,004 | About average | $2,393 | $34,483 |
| Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica | 20 | $3,004 | About average | $2,393 | $20,122 |
| Wellstar Paulding Medical Center | 24 | $3,004 | About average | $2,393 | $26,542 |
| Wellstar Douglas Medical Center | 11 | $3,004 | About average | $2,393 | $22,520 |
National trend
Average payment and billed charge per procedure, and how many Medicare procedures were reported each year.
- Average payment
- Average billed charge
View data as a table
| Year of care | Average payment | Average billed charge |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2,660 | $19K |
| 2021 | $1,684 | $12K |
| 2022 | $2,815 | $21K |
| 2023 | $2,870 | $22K |
| 2024 | $2,995 | $24K |
By state, 2024
Case-weighted average payment across each state’s reporting hospitals, lowest first.
Show all 50 states
| State | Hospitals | Cases | Average payment | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 6 | 413 | $1,583 | $1,314–$1,899 |
| Mississippi | 28 | 947 | $2,519 | $2,601–$2,686 |
| Alabama | 39 | 1,853 | $2,552 | $2,533–$2,680 |
| Tennessee | 49 | 2,127 | $2,620 | $2,638–$2,781 |
| Louisiana | 39 | 1,910 | $2,668 | $2,629–$2,719 |
| West Virginia | 20 | 804 | $2,683 | $2,599–$2,724 |
| South Carolina | 42 | 2,831 | $2,688 | $2,716–$2,802 |
| Ohio | 98 | 4,734 | $2,715 | $2,702–$2,815 |
| Georgia | 62 | 2,484 | $2,723 | $2,699–$2,930 |
| Kentucky | 37 | 1,726 | $2,727 | $2,706–$2,851 |
| Oklahoma | 47 | 3,250 | $2,735 | $2,692–$2,841 |
| Arkansas | 27 | 2,136 | $2,751 | $2,707–$2,897 |
| Kansas | 32 | 1,981 | $2,754 | $2,752–$2,852 |
| Missouri | 53 | 2,474 | $2,773 | $2,722–$2,915 |
| Michigan | 72 | 2,772 | $2,779 | $2,722–$2,890 |
| Iowa | 25 | 1,094 | $2,782 | $2,708–$2,900 |
| Nebraska | 19 | 1,210 | $2,813 | $2,834–$2,917 |
| Texas | 174 | 9,030 | $2,828 | $2,772–$2,922 |
| North Carolina | 65 | 2,991 | $2,846 | $2,785–$2,890 |
| Virginia | 54 | 2,605 | $2,856 | $2,778–$3,032 |
| Indiana | 56 | 2,731 | $2,859 | $2,854–$2,950 |
| Idaho | 14 | 939 | $2,879 | $2,864–$3,061 |
| Utah | 30 | 1,037 | $2,882 | $2,835–$2,900 |
| Florida | 111 | 5,022 | $2,883 | $2,871–$2,932 |
| New Mexico | 17 | 564 | $2,895 | $2,752–$2,910 |
| Maine | 14 | 591 | $2,895 | $2,738–$2,941 |
| Pennsylvania | 98 | 5,031 | $2,901 | $2,844–$3,083 |
| Wisconsin | 54 | 2,612 | $2,921 | $2,872–$2,995 |
| Illinois | 81 | 3,523 | $2,967 | $2,919–$3,073 |
| Minnesota | 43 | 1,776 | $2,975 | $2,937–$3,094 |
| Montana | 9 | 456 | $3,003 | $2,951–$3,187 |
| South Dakota | 13 | 1,592 | $3,054 | $3,014–$3,211 |
| North Dakota | 6 | 723 | $3,059 | $3,035–$3,078 |
| Colorado | 43 | 1,532 | $3,070 | $3,025–$3,081 |
| New Hampshire | 12 | 560 | $3,114 | $3,084–$3,162 |
| Arizona | 44 | 2,123 | $3,136 | $3,072–$3,156 |
| Wyoming | 10 | 243 | $3,183 | $3,156–$3,250 |
| Delaware | 6 | 415 | $3,203 | $3,186–$3,238 |
| District of Columbia | 4 | 160 | $3,234 | $3,218–$3,312 |
| Rhode Island | 7 | 372 | $3,249 | $3,230–$3,285 |
| Washington | 41 | 1,980 | $3,260 | $3,204–$3,335 |
| Nevada | 16 | 646 | $3,395 | $3,325–$3,399 |
| New Jersey | 48 | 2,146 | $3,401 | $3,341–$3,505 |
| Massachusetts | 48 | 4,090 | $3,414 | $3,413–$3,476 |
| Alaska | 6 | 236 | $3,415 | $3,300–$3,453 |
| Oregon | 30 | 1,006 | $3,424 | $3,273–$3,396 |
| New York | 94 | 4,940 | $3,442 | $3,389–$3,647 |
| Connecticut | 25 | 750 | $3,562 | $3,515–$3,611 |
| Hawaii | 5 | 168 | $3,666 | $3,617–$3,899 |
| California | 150 | 6,667 | $4,064 | $3,960–$4,167 |
About these numbers
Average payment is what Medicare paid plus the patient’s deductible and coinsurance (and any other insurer), averaged over the hospital’s Medicare cases. It covers the hospital’s part of the care; doctors bill separately. For outpatient procedures it is Medicare’s allowed amount, which leaves out extra “outlier” payments for unusually costly cases; those are shown under the hospital name where CMS reported any, and included in the CSV. Billed charges are the hospital’s list prices, which few patients pay.
Medicare sets its payments by formula, adjusting for local wages, teaching programs, the share of low-income patients and unusually costly cases. Those adjustments drive most differences between hospitals, so a lower payment doesn’t mean better or worse care, and Medicare patients’ own costs usually vary much less than the totals. Private insurance pays different, usually higher, prices.
Source: CMS Medicare Outpatient Hospitals by Provider and Service (Medicare fee-for-service claims). CMS omits hospitals with fewer than 11 procedures. More in the glossary.