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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons

Removal of a foreign object from muscle or tendon, simple

CPT 20520the billing code this page is about

Surgical removal of a splinter, glass, metal or other foreign object lodged in muscle or a tendon sheath, in a straightforward case.

Hospitals typically charge $1,000 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,034 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,162. Most fall between $364 and $2,603 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,034
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 2,034 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$245$410$1,000$2,168$3,711

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($245 vs $3,711).

How the prices are spread

$177 – $247: 108 hospitals$177$247 – $345: 167 hospitals$345 – $482: 243 hospitals$345$482 – $673: 201 hospitals$673 – $940: 152 hospitals$673$940 – $1,312: 189 hospitals$1,312 – $1,833: 197 hospitals$1,312$1,833 – $2,559: 260 hospitals$2,559 – $3,574: 187 hospitals$2,559$3,574 – $4,990: 129 hospitals$3,574median $1,000price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,833 of 2,034 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$177$247108
$247$345167
$345$482243
$482$673201
$673$940152
$940$1,312189
$1,312$1,833197
$1,833$2,559260
$2,559$3,574187
$3,574$4,990129

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$1,687
Median cash price$1,000
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.59×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,000.

Alaska: median $694 across 13 hospitalsAK$694Maine: median $442 across 17 hospitalsME$442Vermont: median $482 across 12 hospitalsVT$482New Hampshire: median $428 across 13 hospitalsNH$428Washington: median $1,746 across 60 hospitalsWA$1,746Idaho: median $734 across 22 hospitalsID$734Montana: median $396 across 22 hospitalsMT$396North Dakota: median $1,664 across 19 hospitalsND$1,664Minnesota: median $373 across 65 hospitalsMN$373Illinois: median $795 across 85 hospitalsIL$795Wisconsin: median $738 across 81 hospitalsWI$738Michigan: median $970 across 49 hospitalsMI$970New York: median $1,917 across 78 hospitalsNY$1,917Massachusetts: median $828 across 27 hospitalsMA$828Oregon: median $583 across 38 hospitalsOR$583Nevada: median $976 across 15 hospitalsNV$976Wyoming: median $400 across 12 hospitalsWY$400South Dakota: median $603 across 17 hospitalsSD$603Iowa: median $449 across 58 hospitalsIA$449Indiana: median $452 across 44 hospitalsIN$452Ohio: median $1,462 across 78 hospitalsOH$1,462Pennsylvania: median $1,688 across 72 hospitalsPA$1,688New Jersey: median $2,162 across 44 hospitalsNJ$2,162Connecticut: median $1,004 across 16 hospitalsCT$1,004Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $2,168 across 124 hospitalsCA$2,168Utah: median $369 across 26 hospitalsUT$369Colorado: median $1,098 across 39 hospitalsCO$1,098Nebraska: median $480 across 48 hospitalsNE$480Missouri: median $539 across 42 hospitalsMO$539Kentucky: median $533 across 34 hospitalsKY$533West Virginia: median $1,315 across 31 hospitalsWV$1,315Virginia: median $1,064 across 50 hospitalsVA$1,064Maryland: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,607 across 24 hospitalsAZ$1,607New Mexico: median $1,050 across 15 hospitalsNM$1,050Kansas: median $337 across 54 hospitalsKS$337Arkansas: median $392 across 12 hospitalsAR$392Tennessee: median $246 across 34 hospitalsTN$246North Carolina: median $978 across 45 hospitalsNC$978South Carolina: median $3,171 across 39 hospitalsSC$3,171Oklahoma: median $1,039 across 42 hospitalsOK$1,039Louisiana: median $827 across 34 hospitalsLA$827Mississippi: median $399 across 39 hospitalsMS$399Alabama: median $1,171 across 27 hospitalsAL$1,171Georgia: median $1,205 across 73 hospitalsGA$1,205Hawaii: median $3,599 across 13 hospitalsHI$3,599Texas: median $1,613 across 141 hospitalsTX$1,613Florida: median $4,292 across 74 hospitalsFL$4,292
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,000. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL74$4,292+329%$751 – $5,571
Hawaii HI13$3,599+260%$1,494 – $3,869
South Carolina SC39$3,171+217%$953 – $3,215
California CA124$2,168+117%$745 – $3,332
New Jersey NJ44$2,162+116%$1,795 – $5,741
New York NY78$1,917+92%$372 – $3,862
Washington WA60$1,746+75%$374 – $2,997
Pennsylvania PA72$1,688+69%$267 – $2,277
North Dakota ND19$1,664+66%$437 – $2,261
Texas TX141$1,613+61%$725 – $1,897
Arizona AZ24$1,607+61%$568 – $3,686
Ohio OH78$1,462+46%$534 – $2,675
West Virginia WV31$1,315+32%$157 – $2,446
Georgia GA73$1,205+21%$558 – $2,510
Alabama AL27$1,171+17%$437 – $3,241
Colorado CO39$1,098+10%$523 – $2,197
Virginia VA50$1,064+6%$565 – $1,545
New Mexico NM15$1,050+5%$267 – $4,487
Oklahoma OK42$1,039+4%$252 – $1,957
Connecticut CT16$1,0040%$718 – $1,515
North Carolina NC45$978−2%$437 – $1,437
Nevada NV15$976−2%$603 – $1,796
Michigan MI49$970−3%$288 – $4,607
Massachusetts MA27$828−17%$402 – $2,048
Louisiana LA34$827−17%$381 – $1,880
Illinois IL85$795−20%$397 – $2,741
Wisconsin WI81$738−26%$393 – $1,608
Idaho ID22$734−27%$410 – $3,570
Alaska AK13$694−31%$555 – $2,662
South Dakota SD17$603−40%$370 – $1,534
Oregon OR38$583−42%$398 – $953
Missouri MO42$539−46%$315 – $2,506
Kentucky KY34$533−47%$231 – $2,098
Vermont VT12$482−52%$195 – $3,150
Nebraska NE48$480−52%$343 – $1,079
Indiana IN44$452−55%$237 – $1,381
Iowa IA58$449−55%$255 – $873
Maine ME17$442−56%$276 – $1,334
New Hampshire NH13$428−57%$120 – $1,350
Wyoming WY12$400−60%$185 – $722
Mississippi MS39$399−60%$303 – $992
Montana MT22$396−60%$216 – $1,370
Arkansas AR12$392−61%$297 – $1,022
Minnesota MN65$373−63%$245 – $633
Utah UT26$369−63%$328 – $545
Kansas KS54$337−66%$218 – $818
Tennessee TN34$246−75%$212 – $2,065
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD4not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $1,000.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,435$1,445$437 – $3,097
Children’s35$1,551$353 – $2,639
Critical access559$458$272 – $1,064
Ownership
For-profit190$1,706$496 – $3,711
Government425$558$287 – $1,899
Non-profit1,414$1,058$382 – $2,651
System affiliation
Part of a system1,610$1,152$393 – $2,918
Independent424$578$279 – $1,880

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,687
Median cash price$1,000
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

1,484 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,108 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,285; most fall between $393 and $2,997.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,484 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$259$452$1,108$2,439$3,936

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($259 vs $3,936).

Of the 1,597 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,484 gave a usable cash price; 40 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 73 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,034 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (51%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,192 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,034
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here74
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded2
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded82
Hospitals that filed this code2,192

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between July 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as PR Removal of Foreign Body.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Removal of a foreign object from muscle or tendon, simple (CPT 20520) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-20520-removal-of-a-foreign-object-from-muscle-or-tendon-simple