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
Hospitals in Wisconsin
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 38 hospitals
- $16,885
- Median hospital
- $16,941
- Lowest to highest
- $15,410–$18,084
- Medicare procedures
- 1,368
38 hospitals reported at least 11 Medicare procedures for this in 2024. Download as CSV
| Hospital | Cases | Average payment | vs national average | Medicare paid | Billed charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Allis Memorial Hospital | 12 | $15,410 | 11% below the national average | $13,778 | $94,466 |
| Aurora Medical Center Sheboygan County | 20 | $16,137 | About average | $14,505 | $65,205 |
| Community Memorial Hospital | 41 | $16,194 | About average | $14,562 | $78,102 |
| Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital | 65 | $16,234 | About average | $14,599 | $74,956 |
| Bellin Memorial Hospital | 42 | $16,283 | About average | $14,651 | $75,402 |
| Aspirus Wausau Hospital | 55 | $16,367 | About average | $14,735 | $61,986 |
| Thedacare Regional Medical Center - Appleton Inc | 84 | $16,403 | About average | $14,768 | $32,733 |
| Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital | 17 | $16,564 | About average | $14,932 | $91,046 |
| Aurora St Lukes Medical Center | 40 | $16,565 | About average | $14,933 | $100,945 |
| Aspirus Stevens Point Hospital & Clinics, Inc. | 17 | $16,640 | About average | $15,008 | $52,027 |
| Aurora Medical Center Manitowoc County | 13 | $16,667 | About average | $15,035 | $63,762 |
| Oakleaf Surgical Hospital | 54 | $16,714 | About average | $15,082 | $49,559 |
| Marshfield Medical Center - Eau Claire | 25 | $16,714 | About average | $15,082 | $52,187 |
| Holy Family Memorial | 11 | $16,725 | About average | $15,093 | $73,480 |
| St Marys Hospital Medical Center | 24 | $16,725 | About average | $15,093 | $59,659 |
| Aurora BayCare Medical Center | 43 | $16,744 | About average | $15,112 | $66,443 |
| Aurora Medical Center Oshkosh | 19 | $16,744 | About average | $15,111 | $54,539 |
| Sauk Prairie Hospital | 75 | $16,751 | About average | $15,119 | $40,996 |
| Ascension Se Wisconsin Hospital | 19 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $64,484 |
| Aurora Medical Center | 31 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $86,083 |
| Fort Memorial Hospital | 27 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $44,002 |
| Mercy Health System Corp | 13 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $76,377 |
| Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital | 51 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $93,487 |
| Orthopaedic Hospital Of Wisconsin | 18 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $67,268 |
| Watertown Memorial Hospital | 12 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $80,618 |
| Waukesha Memorial Hospital | 11 | $16,941 | About average | $15,309 | $168,331 |
| Aurora Medical Center - Summit | 31 | $16,956 | About average | $15,324 | $57,038 |
| Aurora Medical Center Kenosha | 38 | $17,050 | About average | $15,418 | $78,137 |
| Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center | 67 | $17,073 | About average | $15,455 | $77,990 |
| 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 |
| Froedtert South Inc. | 26 | $17,488 | About average | $15,856 | $73,201 |
| Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Medical Center Inc | 25 | $17,518 | About average | $15,886 | $58,336 |
| Mayo Clinic Health System Eau Claire Hospital | 48 | $17,641 | About average | $16,009 | $49,715 |
| 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 |
| Beloit Health System | 15 | $18,084 | About average | $16,452 | $107,544 |
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.