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Procedure price report · Other OR therapeutic procedures on musculoskeletal system

Placing a drug delivery implant inside a joint

CPT 20704the billing code this page is about

Hand-preparing and inserting a medication-carrying device, such as antibiotic beads or a spacer, into a joint space; reported per device with another surgery.

Hospitals typically charge $371 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 320 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $480. Most fall between $232 and $1,296 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
320
States
43
Filings dated
Dec 2024 – 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 320 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
$153$246$371$770$1,769

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($153 vs $1,769).

How the prices are spread

$97 – $144: 11 hospitals$97$144 – $216: 34 hospitals$216 – $322: 67 hospitals$216$322 – $481: 58 hospitals$481 – $718: 24 hospitals$481$718 – $1,073: 44 hospitals$1,073 – $1,602: 33 hospitals$1,073$1,602 – $2,393: 8 hospitals$2,393 – $3,574: 2 hospitals$2,393$3,574 – $5,339: 9 hospitals$3,574median $371price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (290 of 320 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$97$14411
$144$21634
$216$32267
$322$48158
$481$71824
$718$1,07344
$1,073$1,60233
$1,602$2,3938
$2,393$3,5742
$3,574$5,3399

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $371.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: median $360 across 10 hospitalsID$360Montana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNDMinnesota: median $752 across 17 hospitalsMN$752Illinois: median $306 across 19 hospitalsIL$306Wisconsin: median $720 across 28 hospitalsWI$720Michigan: median $192 across 13 hospitalsMI$192New York: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNYMassachusetts: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $308 across 14 hospitalsOR$308Nevada: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $362 across 16 hospitalsIA$362Indiana: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $409 across 10 hospitalsOH$409Pennsylvania: median $113 across 17 hospitalsPA$113New Jersey: median $5,339 across 13 hospitalsNJ$5,339Connecticut: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $770 across 43 hospitalsCA$770Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $160 across 10 hospitalsWV$160Virginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVAMaryland: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNMKansas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceARTennessee: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNCSouth Carolina: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $246 across 11 hospitalsOK$246Louisiana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTXFlorida: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $371. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ13$5,339+1339%$4,350 – $5,855
California CA43$770+107%$656 – $1,400
Minnesota MN17$752+103%$356 – $752
Wisconsin WI28$720+94%$291 – $1,598
Ohio OH10$409+10%$89 – $676
Iowa IA16$362−3%$362 – $413
Idaho ID10$360−3%$52 – $360
Oregon OR14$308−17%$274 – $345
Illinois IL19$306−18%$253 – $929
Oklahoma OK11$246−34%$246 – $246
Michigan MI13$192−48%$52 – $720
West Virginia WV10$160−57%$152 – $456
Pennsylvania PA17$113−69%$92 – $193
Florida FL8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New York NY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Texas TX4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY1not 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 $371.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care235$397$229 – $1,400
Children’s4fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access80$360$240 – $720
Ownership
For-profit25$430$253 – $2,000
Government38$356$265 – $647
Non-profit256$363$199 – $1,302
System affiliation
Part of a system254$397$240 – $1,302
Independent66$330$208 – $1,296

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$534
Median cash price$371
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

193 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $362 and the average of the middle 60% is $445; most fall between $239 and $770.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 193 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
$158$246$362$726$1,400

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($158 vs $1,400).

Of the 208 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 193 gave a usable cash price; 11 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 4 a list price only.

How complete is this

320 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (8%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 375 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted320
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here29
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded26
Hospitals that filed this code375

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • 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 September 4, 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 OR therapeutic procedures on musculoskeletal system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Manual Prep&Insj I-Artic Drug Delivery Device.

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, “Placing a drug delivery implant inside a joint (CPT 20704) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-20704-placing-a-drug-delivery-implant-inside-a-joint