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 1,101–1,150. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Anthony Medical Center | 51 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $84,701 |
| Uw Health | 18 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $322,801 |
| Elliot Hospital | 52 | $18,093 | About average | $16,461 | $72,978 |
| Sisters Of Charity Hospital | 34 | $18,116 | About average | $16,484 | $43,736 |
| Samaritan Albany General Hospital | 15 | $18,124 | About average | $16,492 | $67,802 |
| Arizona Orthopedic And Surgical Specialty Hospital | 129 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $179,461 |
| Banner Baywood Medical Center | 38 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $71,294 |
| Banner Boswell Medical Center | 50 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $81,968 |
| Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center | 54 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $89,304 |
| Banner - University Medical Center Tucson Campus | 33 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $99,976 |
| HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center | 32 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $191,510 |
| Honor Health John C. Lincoln Medical Center | 41 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $158,663 |
| Mayo Clinic Hospital | 232 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $61,505 |
| Northwest Medical Center | 119 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $143,050 |
| Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita | 29 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $136,587 |
| O.A.S.I.S. Hospital | 55 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $167,309 |
| Oro Valley Hospital | 53 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $136,946 |
| Tucson Medical Center | 98 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $50,420 |
| Abrazo Arrowhead Hospital | 21 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $193,858 |
| Banner Ocotillo Medical Center | 18 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $84,375 |
| Banner Thunderbird Medical Center | 18 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $111,600 |
| Banner-University Medical Center South Campus | 14 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $91,228 |
| Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital | 18 | $18,131 | About average | $16,499 | $67,288 |
| Mercy Gilbert Medical Center | 55 | $18,131 | About average | $16,495 | $145,916 |
| Lehigh Valley Hospital - Pocono | 19 | $18,135 | About average | $16,503 | $147,637 |
| Lehigh Valley Hospital | 200 | $18,135 | About average | $16,503 | $146,680 |
| John T Mather Memorial Hospital Of Port Jefferson | 92 | $18,142 | About average | $16,510 | $93,863 |
| Catholic Medical Center | 16 | $18,157 | About average | $16,525 | $111,673 |
| Southern NH Medical Center | 11 | $18,157 | About average | $16,525 | $96,891 |
| St Joseph Hospital | 22 | $18,157 | About average | $16,525 | $100,176 |
| Saint Joseph Hospital-Elgin | 54 | $18,164 | About average | $16,532 | $150,650 |
| Logan Health Medical Center | 39 | $18,232 | About average | $16,600 | $49,248 |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center | 44 | $18,234 | About average | $16,599 | $73,922 |
| Maine General Medical Center | 24 | $18,256 | About average | $16,624 | $62,036 |
| Sentara RMH Medical Center | 34 | $18,285 | About average | $16,653 | $52,729 |
| Providence Holy Family Hospital | 89 | $18,305 | About average | $16,673 | $66,984 |
| St Peters Health | 37 | $18,308 | About average | $16,676 | $47,021 |
| Sheridan Memorial Hospital | 20 | $18,308 | About average | $16,676 | $73,760 |
| Gettysburg Hospital | 53 | $18,322 | About average | $16,690 | $87,275 |
| Asante Ashland Community Hospital | 14 | $18,344 | About average | $16,712 | $66,747 |
| St Francis Community Hospital | 27 | $18,348 | About average | $16,716 | $146,525 |
| Monument Health Spearfish Hospital | 56 | $18,365 | About average | $16,725 | $74,240 |
| Wellspan Chambersburg Hospital | 38 | $18,393 | About average | $16,759 | $58,825 |
| Valley View Medical Center | 19 | $18,397 | About average | $16,765 | $144,710 |
| Blessing Hospital | 37 | $18,403 | About average | $16,771 | $154,952 |
| Boston Medical Center | 12 | $18,438 | About average | $16,806 | $54,575 |
| Marlborough Hospital | 12 | $18,438 | About average | $16,806 | $99,437 |
| MedStar Georgetown University Hospital | 60 | $18,443 | About average | $16,809 | $88,061 |
| Alaska Regional Hospital | 71 | $18,448 | About average | $16,816 | $280,820 |
| Christiana Hospital | 263 | $18,461 | About average | $16,826 | $82,909 |
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.