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 1,051–1,100. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Memorial Health Hospital | 14 | $17,774 | About average | $16,142 | $44,553 |
| Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital | 45 | $17,774 | About average | $16,142 | $56,684 |
| Meadville Medical Center | 20 | $17,787 | About average | $16,155 | $44,796 |
| Essentia Health St Joseph's Medical Center | 23 | $17,805 | About average | $16,166 | $52,703 |
| Rochester General Hospital | 19 | $17,808 | About average | $16,176 | $30,729 |
| Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital | 13 | $17,819 | About average | $16,187 | $45,934 |
| Marshfield Medical Center - Rice Lake | 12 | $17,819 | About average | $16,187 | $55,900 |
| Exeter Hospital Inc | 15 | $17,827 | About average | $16,195 | $85,048 |
| Intermountain Health Sevier Valley Hospital | 22 | $17,840 | About average | $16,208 | $47,107 |
| St Luke's Hospital - Easton Campus | 25 | $17,858 | About average | $16,226 | $166,275 |
| Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix | 123 | $17,869 | About average | $16,231 | $77,675 |
| Banner Estrella Medical Center | 64 | $17,874 | About average | $16,238 | $77,555 |
| Olmsted Medical Center | 14 | $17,885 | About average | $16,253 | $63,550 |
| Riddle Memorial Hospital | 80 | $17,905 | About average | $16,272 | $53,686 |
| Abrazo Scottsdale Campus | 69 | $17,917 | About average | $16,285 | $205,285 |
| HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center | 76 | $17,917 | About average | $16,282 | $171,574 |
| Christus Mother Frances Hospital Sulphur Springs | 12 | $17,921 | About average | $16,289 | $218,209 |
| Paris Regional Medical Center | 26 | $17,921 | About average | $16,289 | $110,858 |
| Portneuf Medical Center | 41 | $17,921 | About average | $16,283 | $147,182 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital | 103 | $17,925 | About average | $16,293 | $112,087 |
| Paoli Hospital | 60 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $58,803 |
| Bryn Mawr Hospital | 93 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $57,834 |
| Chester County Hospital | 66 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $66,860 |
| Jefferson Health- Northeast | 12 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $79,753 |
| Phoenixville Hospital | 18 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $77,361 |
| St Luke's Hospital - Grand View Campus | 36 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $48,575 |
| St Luke's Hospital - Upper Bucks Campus | 18 | $17,938 | About average | $16,306 | $207,551 |
| Doylestown Hospital | 57 | $17,938 | About average | $16,304 | $86,555 |
| MultiCare Covington Medical Center | 15 | $17,942 | About average | $16,310 | $82,201 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Childrens Hospital | 25 | $17,956 | About average | $16,324 | $67,944 |
| The Core Institute Specialty Hospital | 195 | $17,962 | About average | $16,330 | $85,418 |
| HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center | 98 | $17,963 | About average | $16,328 | $162,503 |
| HonorHealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Medical Center | 80 | $17,971 | About average | $16,338 | $137,218 |
| Augusta Health | 49 | $17,973 | About average | $16,341 | $103,156 |
| PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Cente | 35 | $17,975 | About average | $16,342 | $104,741 |
| Arizona Spine And Joint Hospital | 122 | $17,996 | About average | $16,364 | $127,228 |
| Asante Three Rivers Medical Center | 48 | $17,996 | About average | $16,364 | $74,183 |
| Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa | 18 | $17,998 | About average | $16,366 | $50,899 |
| Winchester Medical Center | 64 | $18,024 | About average | $16,389 | $52,964 |
| Flagler Hospital | 13 | $18,039 | About average | $16,407 | $68,217 |
| Mercy Regional Medical Center | 38 | $18,044 | About average | $16,412 | $105,897 |
| Great Plains Health | 56 | $18,049 | About average | $16,417 | $89,698 |
| San Juan Regional Medical Center Inc | 52 | $18,049 | About average | $16,417 | $48,811 |
| Avera Sacred Heart Hospital | 28 | $18,061 | About average | $16,429 | $58,455 |
| Alexian Brothers Medical Center 1 | 23 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $64,588 |
| Beloit Health System | 15 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $107,544 |
| Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital | 21 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $44,894 |
| MacNeal Hospital | 12 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $128,342 |
| Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital | 22 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $180,878 |
| OSF Saint Elizabeth Mdl Center | 12 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $93,751 |
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.