Level 5 Musculoskeletal Procedures
In 2024, Medicare and patients paid an average of $12,402 per procedure at 2,213 hospitals. Half of hospitals averaged between $11,345 and $12,814.
Also known as: Orthopedic surgery, arthroscopy, outpatient joint surgery
National figures, 2024
- Average payment per case
- $12,402
- Typical range (middle half of hospitals)
- $11,345–$12,814
- Medicare’s share
- $10,772
- Average billed charge
- $72,739
- Hospitals reporting
- 2,213
Hospitals in North Carolina
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.
- Average payment across these 65 hospitals
- $11,652
- Median hospital
- $11,546
- Lowest to highest
- $10,388–$13,102
- Medicare procedures
- 11,812
65 hospitals reported at least 11 Medicare procedures for this in 2024; showing 51–65. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph Hospital | 18 | $11,791 | About average | $10,159 | $54,345 |
| Atrium Health Lincoln | 25 | $11,811 | About average | $10,179 | $85,805 |
| Davie Medical Center | 65 | $11,821 | About average | $10,189 | $81,983 |
| Granville Health Systems | 16 | $11,856 | About average | $10,224 | $55,703 |
| Alamance Regional Medical Center | 105 | $11,903 | About average | $10,271 | $51,040 |
| Carteret General Hospital | 102 | $11,905 | About average | $10,321 | $38,817 |
| Lexington Memorial Hospital Inc | 88 | $11,980 | About average | $10,346 | $69,593 |
| Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center | 730 | $12,161 | About average | $10,530 | $59,683 |
| Watauga Medical Center | 247 | $12,163 | About average | $10,531 | $45,451 |
| Carolina East Medical Center | 557 | $12,230 | About average | $10,598 | $47,262 |
| Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital | 29 | $12,249 | About average | $10,617 | $34,389 |
| Ecu Health North Hospital | 49 | $12,249 | About average | $10,617 | $33,486 |
| Southeastern Regional Medical Center | 11 | $12,249 | About average | $10,617 | $72,247 |
| Sentara Albemarle Medical Center | 135 | $12,249 | About average | $10,616 | $46,265 |
| UNC Health Care Wayne | 82 | $13,102 | About average | $11,470 | $39,362 |
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 | $12K | $61K |
| 2021 | $12K | $66K |
| 2022 | $12K | $68K |
| 2023 | $13K | $71K |
| 2024 | $12K | $73K |
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 | 927 | $6,642 | $5,710–$7,857 |
| Alabama | 36 | 5,517 | $10,733 | $10,538–$10,928 |
| Mississippi | 25 | 1,977 | $10,843 | $10,672–$11,006 |
| Tennessee | 47 | 8,201 | $10,865 | $10,654–$11,195 |
| Louisiana | 44 | 5,417 | $10,909 | $10,733–$11,044 |
| West Virginia | 19 | 2,033 | $11,015 | $10,538–$11,114 |
| Ohio | 104 | 15,215 | $11,123 | $11,029–$11,497 |
| Oklahoma | 42 | 7,005 | $11,159 | $11,026–$11,326 |
| Arkansas | 28 | 5,195 | $11,206 | $11,043–$11,679 |
| South Carolina | 43 | 9,015 | $11,244 | $11,083–$11,366 |
| Kentucky | 42 | 5,097 | $11,263 | $10,995–$11,552 |
| Kansas | 34 | 6,049 | $11,345 | $11,166–$11,885 |
| Iowa | 29 | 5,825 | $11,405 | $11,208–$11,925 |
| Missouri | 53 | 8,629 | $11,419 | $11,333–$11,837 |
| Virginia | 55 | 13,156 | $11,531 | $11,183–$12,118 |
| Michigan | 73 | 8,557 | $11,535 | $11,319–$11,944 |
| Texas | 188 | 27,220 | $11,614 | $11,350–$11,866 |
| Georgia | 71 | 9,007 | $11,645 | $11,145–$12,011 |
| North Carolina | 65 | 11,812 | $11,652 | $11,347–$11,739 |
| New Mexico | 16 | 2,050 | $11,704 | $11,270–$12,005 |
| Utah | 32 | 3,863 | $11,712 | $11,479–$11,775 |
| Indiana | 64 | 9,630 | $11,754 | $11,642–$11,909 |
| Nebraska | 21 | 4,927 | $11,799 | $11,652–$12,128 |
| Florida | 133 | 23,438 | $11,799 | $11,730–$11,906 |
| Idaho | 15 | 2,954 | $11,894 | $11,784–$12,386 |
| Wisconsin | 56 | 7,721 | $11,921 | $11,695–$12,134 |
| Maine | 14 | 1,590 | $12,045 | $11,422–$12,212 |
| Pennsylvania | 105 | 17,854 | $12,207 | $11,693–$12,571 |
| Montana | 10 | 2,257 | $12,302 | $12,157–$12,991 |
| Illinois | 82 | 14,943 | $12,334 | $12,119–$12,518 |
| South Dakota | 13 | 3,867 | $12,387 | $12,258–$13,048 |
| North Dakota | 6 | 1,935 | $12,448 | $12,260–$12,787 |
| Colorado | 47 | 8,262 | $12,564 | $12,388–$12,511 |
| New Hampshire | 11 | 2,199 | $12,713 | $12,410–$12,672 |
| Minnesota | 42 | 6,532 | $12,735 | $12,361–$12,965 |
| Arizona | 47 | 9,066 | $12,802 | $12,653–$12,814 |
| Wyoming | 10 | 919 | $12,806 | $12,962–$13,194 |
| Delaware | 6 | 2,342 | $13,085 | $13,029–$13,172 |
| District of Columbia | 4 | 774 | $13,274 | $13,278–$13,444 |
| Rhode Island | 8 | 825 | $13,278 | $13,310–$13,335 |
| Washington | 43 | 7,875 | $13,453 | $13,133–$13,721 |
| Alaska | 6 | 992 | $13,858 | $13,747–$14,483 |
| Oregon | 29 | 3,599 | $13,939 | $13,452–$13,786 |
| Nevada | 16 | 2,147 | $13,956 | $13,488–$13,899 |
| Massachusetts | 43 | 9,382 | $13,997 | $13,872–$14,027 |
| New Jersey | 43 | 10,137 | $14,069 | $13,614–$14,536 |
| New York | 91 | 13,630 | $14,226 | $13,725–$14,676 |
| Connecticut | 23 | 3,597 | $14,579 | $14,481–$14,714 |
| Hawaii | 9 | 682 | $14,923 | $14,484–$15,494 |
| California | 164 | 27,002 | $16,486 | $15,996–$16,675 |
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.