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Procedure price report · Other OR therapeutic procedures on bone

Removal of infected dead bone from the bony tip of the elbow

CPT 24138the billing code this page is about

Surgery to cut away a piece of dead, infected bone from the olecranon, the bony point of the elbow.

Hospitals typically charge $2,400 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 223 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,703. Most fall between $1,138 and $8,454 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
223
States
41
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 23, 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 223 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
$838$1,166$2,400$8,376$10,035

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($838 vs $10,035).

How the prices are spread

$690 – $917: 17 hospitals$690$917 – $1,218: 30 hospitals$1,218 – $1,617: 18 hospitals$1,218$1,617 – $2,147: 29 hospitals$2,147 – $2,851: 12 hospitals$2,147$2,851 – $3,786: 12 hospitals$3,786 – $5,028: 7 hospitals$3,786$5,028 – $6,677: 18 hospitals$6,677 – $8,867: 28 hospitals$6,677$8,867 – $11,775: 30 hospitals$8,867median $2,400price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (201 of 223 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$690$91717
$917$1,21830
$1,218$1,61718
$1,617$2,14729
$2,147$2,85112
$2,851$3,78612
$3,786$5,0287
$5,028$6,67718
$6,677$8,86728
$8,867$11,77530

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$7,413
Median cash price$2,400
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.32×

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 $2,400.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $1,296 across 12 hospitalsIL$1,296Wisconsin: median $3,434 across 10 hospitalsWI$3,434Michigan: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMINew York: median $8,454 across 19 hospitalsNY$8,454Massachusetts: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMAOregon: median $1,290 across 10 hospitalsOR$1,290Nevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $1,671 across 14 hospitalsIA$1,671Indiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figurePANew Jersey: median $6,311 across 22 hospitalsNJ$6,311Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $10,035 across 23 hospitalsCA$10,035Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $1,138 across 12 hospitalsOK$1,138Louisiana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTXFlorida: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,400. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA23$10,035+318%$10,035 – $10,035
New York NY19$8,454+252%$3,710 – $8,613
New Jersey NJ22$6,311+163%$4,881 – $7,914
Wisconsin WI10$3,434+43%$3,118 – $3,434
Iowa IA14$1,671−30%$1,671 – $1,671
Illinois IL12$1,296−46%$838 – $1,671
Oregon OR10$1,290−46%$1,290 – $2,298
Oklahoma OK12$1,138−53%$1,138 – $1,138
Georgia GA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Michigan MI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Texas TX6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Pennsylvania PA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA1not 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 $2,400.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care186$2,849$1,138 – $8,454
Children’s7fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access30$2,298$838 – $12,319
Ownership
For-profit26$1,854$838 – $10,468
Government30$1,905$1,248 – $8,454
Non-profit167$2,849$1,138 – $9,058
System affiliation
Part of a system181$3,434$1,138 – $8,613
Independent42$1,637$1,095 – $6,168

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,182
Median cash price$2,400
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

120 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,671 and the average of the middle 60% is $3,760; most fall between $924 and $10,035.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 120 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
$829$1,095$1,671$5,810$10,035

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($829 vs $10,035).

Of the 144 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 120 gave a usable cash price; 22 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 2 a list price only.

How complete is this

223 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (6%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 255 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted223
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here28
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded3
Hospitals that filed this code255

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 September 4, 2026 and September 23, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 23, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Other OR therapeutic procedures on bone family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Sequestrectomy Olecranon Process.

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 infected dead bone from the bony tip of the elbow (CPT 24138) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-24138-removal-of-infected-dead-bone-from-the-bony-tip-of-the-elbow