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 1,151–1,200. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnot Ogden Medical Center | 27 | $18,461 | About average | $16,852 | $45,130 |
| CHI St Lukes Health Memorial Livingston | 11 | $18,465 | About average | $16,833 | $136,916 |
| Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital | 98 | $18,495 | About average | $16,863 | $63,756 |
| Parkland Medical Center | 18 | $18,506 | About average | $16,874 | $374,738 |
| Portsmouth Regional Hospital | 35 | $18,506 | About average | $16,874 | $251,587 |
| Cooper University Hospital | 37 | $18,518 | About average | $16,890 | $88,413 |
| Alomere Health | 24 | $18,536 | About average | $16,904 | $49,335 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | 30 | $18,536 | About average | $16,904 | $51,176 |
| Centracare- Rice Memorial Hospital | 12 | $18,536 | About average | $16,904 | $51,661 |
| Lake Region Healthcare Corporation | 17 | $18,536 | About average | $16,904 | $56,607 |
| Grand Itasca Clinic And Hospital | 14 | $18,536 | About average | $16,903 | $41,936 |
| Southern Ocean Medical Center | 39 | $18,554 | About average | $16,922 | $73,237 |
| South County Hospital Inc | 66 | $18,607 | About average | $16,968 | $41,440 |
| Christus St Vincent Regional Medical Center | 79 | $18,610 | About average | $16,976 | $147,017 |
| Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus | 18 | $18,654 | About average | $17,022 | $63,149 |
| Tidalhealth Nanticoke, Inc. | 20 | $18,654 | About average | $17,022 | $38,946 |
| Beebe Medical Center | 130 | $18,654 | About average | $17,021 | $61,329 |
| Multicare Valley Hospital | 52 | $18,661 | About average | $17,029 | $117,489 |
| University Of Washington Medical Center | 62 | $18,661 | About average | $17,029 | $67,373 |
| Harborview Medical Center | 20 | $18,661 | About average | $17,029 | $111,460 |
| Kadlec Regional Medical Center | 88 | $18,661 | About average | $17,029 | $63,101 |
| The Miriam Hospital | 77 | $18,661 | About average | $17,029 | $45,604 |
| Altru Hospital | 34 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $75,088 |
| Banner Wyoming Medical Center | 28 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $61,202 |
| Campbell County Health | 28 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $52,691 |
| Cheyenne Regional Medical Center | 23 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $102,832 |
| Ivinson Memorial Hospital | 36 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $52,173 |
| Monument Health Rapid City Hospital | 23 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $60,294 |
| Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, Inc | 20 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $73,680 |
| Sagewest Health Care | 11 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $133,418 |
| St Johns Medical Center | 53 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $76,642 |
| Trinity Hospitals | 16 | $18,669 | About average | $17,037 | $46,985 |
| Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Somerset | 46 | $18,688 | About average | $17,052 | $107,117 |
| Bayhealth Medical Center, Kent Campus | 26 | $18,702 | About average | $17,070 | $88,701 |
| Overlake Hospital Medical Center & Clinics | 67 | $18,728 | About average | $17,093 | $110,218 |
| Penn Presbyterian Medical Center | 50 | $18,732 | About average | $17,100 | $103,860 |
| Pennsylvania Hospital | 27 | $18,732 | About average | $17,100 | $82,160 |
| Mount Nittany Medical Center | 65 | $18,762 | About average | $17,130 | $69,076 |
| Riverview Medical Center | 31 | $18,766 | About average | $17,183 | $68,244 |
| Providence St Peter Hospital | 100 | $18,798 | About average | $17,166 | $103,965 |
| Island Hospital | 46 | $18,798 | About average | $17,166 | $43,199 |
| Skagit Valley Hospital | 41 | $18,798 | About average | $17,166 | $71,383 |
| Our Lady Of Fatima Hospital | 14 | $18,868 | About average | $17,236 | $45,018 |
| Centracare - St. Cloud Hospital | 66 | $18,891 | About average | $17,259 | $52,377 |
| Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center | 60 | $18,911 | About average | $17,279 | $49,859 |
| Kenmore Mercy Hospital | 68 | $18,917 | About average | $17,281 | $41,472 |
| UNC Health Care Wayne | 38 | $18,944 | About average | $17,312 | $45,950 |
| Intermountain Health St. Mary's Regional Hospital | 31 | $18,956 | About average | $17,324 | $74,382 |
| Montrose Regional Health | 20 | $18,956 | About average | $17,324 | $95,423 |
| UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center | 15 | $18,956 | About average | $17,324 | $77,269 |
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.