Level 6 Musculoskeletal Procedures
In 2024, Medicare and patients paid an average of $17,392 per procedure at 1,481 hospitals. Half of hospitals averaged between $16,055 and $18,131.
Also known as: Orthopedic surgery, arthroscopy, outpatient joint surgery
National figures, 2024
- Average payment per case
- $17,392
- Typical range (middle half of hospitals)
- $16,055–$18,131
- Medicare’s share
- $15,763
- Average billed charge
- $97,523
- Hospitals reporting
- 1,481
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.
1,479 hospitals reported at least 11 Medicare procedures for this in 2024; showing 901–950. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast | 13 | $17,243 | About average | $15,611 | $315,454 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball | 18 | $17,243 | About average | $15,611 | $382,944 |
| Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital | 19 | $17,243 | About average | $15,611 | $172,104 |
| Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital | 14 | $17,243 | About average | $15,611 | $180,098 |
| Memorial Hermann Houston Physicians Hospital | 17 | $17,243 | About average | $15,611 | $91,087 |
| Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital | 12 | $17,243 | About average | $15,611 | $73,833 |
| Memorial Hermann Surgical Hospital Kingwood | 24 | $17,243 | About average | $15,609 | $72,640 |
| Dunes Surgical Hospital | 164 | $17,256 | About average | $15,622 | $74,380 |
| Piedmont Henry Hospital | 24 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $137,519 |
| Piedmont Newnan Hospital, Inc | 31 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $134,025 |
| Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center | 44 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $120,085 |
| Emory Johns Creek Hospital | 18 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $69,278 |
| Emory University Hospital | 76 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $49,627 |
| Northside Hospital | 164 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $103,953 |
| Northside Hospital Duluth | 19 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $95,686 |
| Tanner Medical Center - Carrollton | 19 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $112,965 |
| Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center | 13 | $17,257 | About average | $15,625 | $113,632 |
| Northside Hospital Forsyth | 66 | $17,257 | About average | $15,624 | $117,202 |
| Wellstar Cobb Medical Center | 27 | $17,258 | About average | $15,617 | $110,831 |
| Northside Hospital Gwinnett | 24 | $17,258 | About average | $15,616 | $140,772 |
| Piedmont Walton Hospital | 13 | $17,258 | About average | $15,607 | $123,174 |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Marble Falls | 25 | $17,280 | About average | $15,648 | $58,589 |
| Titus Regional Medical Center | 13 | $17,280 | About average | $15,648 | $35,775 |
| University Of Colorado Hospital Authority | 38 | $17,285 | About average | $15,646 | $135,006 |
| Centura Health-Penrose St Francis Health Services | 193 | $17,285 | About average | $15,652 | $92,924 |
| Inova Fair Oaks Hospital | 106 | $17,288 | About average | $15,656 | $58,307 |
| NorthShore University HealthSystem - Evanston Hospital | 180 | $17,289 | About average | $15,657 | $84,588 |
| Wentworth-Douglass Hospital | 31 | $17,305 | About average | $15,673 | $84,948 |
| Advocate Lutheran General Hospital | 46 | $17,306 | About average | $15,674 | $61,802 |
| Essentia Health Duluth | 84 | $17,310 | About average | $15,678 | $50,429 |
| Mercy Hospital | 35 | $17,313 | About average | $15,681 | $52,784 |
| Sentara Albemarle Medical Center | 16 | $17,331 | About average | $15,699 | $60,163 |
| Carolina East Medical Center | 59 | $17,331 | About average | $15,699 | $73,481 |
| Watauga Medical Center | 43 | $17,331 | About average | $15,699 | $63,839 |
| Christus Southern New Mexico | 14 | $17,343 | About average | $15,711 | $233,800 |
| Mymichigan Medical Center West Branch | 13 | $17,350 | About average | $15,718 | $52,805 |
| MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center | 98 | $17,354 | About average | $15,722 | $66,378 |
| Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital | 277 | $17,356 | About average | $15,724 | $70,519 |
| SSM Health St Mary's Hospital - Madison | 64 | $17,359 | About average | $15,727 | $63,901 |
| UnityPoint Health - Meriter | 26 | $17,359 | About average | $15,727 | $94,170 |
| University Of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics Authority | 164 | $17,359 | About average | $15,723 | $83,917 |
| United Regional Health Care System | 68 | $17,359 | About average | $15,727 | $66,266 |
| Silver Cross Hospital And Medical Centers | 58 | $17,378 | About average | $15,746 | $47,579 |
| Bothwell Regional Health Center | 11 | $17,392 | About average | $15,760 | $51,676 |
| Methodist Fremont Health | 18 | $17,400 | About average | $15,768 | $105,554 |
| Centura Health-St Anthony North Health Campus | 54 | $17,404 | About average | $15,772 | $102,400 |
| St Joseph Regional Medical Center | 64 | $17,412 | About average | $15,780 | $89,773 |
| OrthoColorado Hospital At St Anthony Medical Campus | 172 | $17,423 | About average | $15,791 | $106,287 |
| St Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center | 33 | $17,428 | About average | $15,796 | $56,309 |
| Reston Hospital Center | 74 | $17,432 | About average | $15,797 | $165,966 |
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 | $15K | $75K |
| 2021 | $15K | $116K |
| 2022 | $16K | $92K |
| 2023 | $21K | $112K |
| 2024 | $17K | $98K |
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 | 3 | 119 | $8,999 | $8,453–$10,624 |
| Alabama | 25 | 1,210 | $15,164 | $14,755–$15,349 |
| Utah | 23 | 1,080 | $15,193 | $16,244–$16,659 |
| Tennessee | 33 | 2,084 | $15,325 | $15,130–$15,866 |
| Mississippi | 14 | 683 | $15,430 | $15,026–$15,570 |
| Louisiana | 30 | 1,108 | $15,576 | $15,464–$15,754 |
| West Virginia | 12 | 558 | $15,715 | $14,973–$15,721 |
| Oklahoma | 30 | 1,351 | $15,834 | $15,611–$16,023 |
| Arkansas | 21 | 1,202 | $15,872 | $15,523–$16,345 |
| South Carolina | 30 | 1,929 | $15,906 | $15,619–$16,100 |
| Ohio | 73 | 3,030 | $15,978 | $15,826–$16,279 |
| Kentucky | 22 | 1,410 | $16,042 | $15,742–$16,096 |
| Kansas | 23 | 1,240 | $16,065 | $15,767–$16,241 |
| Iowa | 20 | 1,326 | $16,087 | $15,847–$16,340 |
| Missouri | 35 | 1,775 | $16,103 | $15,799–$16,551 |
| Virginia | 41 | 2,439 | $16,328 | $15,963–$17,432 |
| Texas | 127 | 5,228 | $16,373 | $16,124–$16,789 |
| Michigan | 44 | 1,746 | $16,380 | $15,785–$17,123 |
| Georgia | 42 | 1,898 | $16,409 | $15,899–$17,257 |
| North Carolina | 45 | 2,608 | $16,492 | $16,184–$16,710 |
| Indiana | 47 | 2,034 | $16,575 | $16,509–$16,797 |
| Florida | 86 | 5,085 | $16,629 | $16,634–$16,845 |
| Nebraska | 16 | 1,011 | $16,771 | $16,741–$16,936 |
| Wisconsin | 38 | 1,368 | $16,885 | $16,647–$17,067 |
| Idaho | 13 | 741 | $16,900 | $16,735–$17,428 |
| New Mexico | 9 | 300 | $17,126 | $15,882–$17,343 |
| Maine | 7 | 292 | $17,280 | $16,837–$17,471 |
| Pennsylvania | 65 | 3,133 | $17,344 | $16,610–$17,938 |
| Illinois | 56 | 2,463 | $17,391 | $17,185–$17,654 |
| North Dakota | 6 | 437 | $17,467 | $17,235–$18,360 |
| South Dakota | 10 | 790 | $17,472 | $17,281–$18,289 |
| Montana | 9 | 516 | $17,606 | $17,193–$18,232 |
| Colorado | 37 | 2,121 | $17,744 | $17,468–$17,701 |
| Minnesota | 27 | 1,383 | $18,117 | $17,504–$18,536 |
| Wyoming | 8 | 289 | $18,154 | $18,579–$18,669 |
| New Hampshire | 11 | 403 | $18,184 | $17,654–$18,332 |
| Arizona | 37 | 2,369 | $18,231 | $17,996–$18,131 |
| Delaware | 5 | 457 | $18,546 | $18,654–$18,654 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 157 | $18,657 | $18,634–$18,765 |
| District of Columbia | 4 | 199 | $18,848 | $18,878–$19,023 |
| Washington | 33 | 1,628 | $19,062 | $18,661–$19,156 |
| Alaska | 3 | 180 | $19,345 | $18,819–$19,653 |
| New Jersey | 28 | 1,653 | $19,847 | $19,222–$20,663 |
| Oregon | 20 | 929 | $19,883 | $19,066–$19,507 |
| Massachusetts | 34 | 1,711 | $19,887 | $19,966–$19,966 |
| New York | 51 | 1,970 | $19,922 | $19,552–$20,841 |
| Nevada | 9 | 617 | $19,943 | $19,802–$19,910 |
| Connecticut | 16 | 778 | $20,733 | $20,681–$20,925 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 70 | $21,247 | $21,066–$22,304 |
| California | 97 | 4,332 | $23,412 | $22,851–$23,737 |
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.