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Procedure price report · Other diagnostic procedures on musculoskeletal system

Opening a knuckle joint to take a tissue sample

CPT 26105the billing code this page is about

Surgical opening of one metacarpophalangeal (knuckle) joint to remove a sample of joint lining for testing; billed per joint.

Hospitals typically charge $1,666 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 304 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,903. Most fall between $568 and $4,479 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
304
States
44
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 304 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
$381$649$1,666$3,840$6,839

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 18× what the cheapest tenth charges ($381 vs $6,839).

How the prices are spread

$255 – $357: 12 hospitals$255$357 – $499: 15 hospitals$499 – $698: 48 hospitals$499$698 – $976: 26 hospitals$976 – $1,364: 25 hospitals$976$1,364 – $1,907: 30 hospitals$1,907 – $2,666: 13 hospitals$1,907$2,666 – $3,727: 34 hospitals$3,727 – $5,211: 43 hospitals$3,727$5,211 – $7,286: 34 hospitals$5,211median $1,666price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (280 of 304 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$255$35712
$357$49915
$499$69848
$698$97626
$976$1,36425
$1,364$1,90730
$1,907$2,66613
$2,666$3,72734
$3,727$5,21143
$5,211$7,28634

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,343
Median cash price$1,666
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.50×

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 $1,666.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $1,850 across 12 hospitalsMN$1,850Illinois: median $650 across 14 hospitalsIL$650Wisconsin: median $1,726 across 13 hospitalsWI$1,726Michigan: median $661 across 13 hospitalsMI$661New York: median $3,840 across 22 hospitalsNY$3,840Massachusetts: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMAOregon: median $649 across 10 hospitalsOR$649Nevada: 2 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 $833 across 14 hospitalsIA$833Indiana: median $1,178 across 13 hospitalsIN$1,178Ohio: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: median $265 across 18 hospitalsPA$265New Jersey: median $3,986 across 22 hospitalsNJ$3,986Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $7,286 across 23 hospitalsCA$7,286Utah: 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: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceWVVirginia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 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: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 3 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 $568 across 12 hospitalsOK$568Louisiana: 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: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,778 across 21 hospitalsTX$2,778Florida: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,666. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA23$7,286+337%$7,286 – $7,286
New Jersey NJ22$3,986+139%$3,591 – $5,419
New York NY22$3,840+130%$2,717 – $3,884
Texas TX21$2,778+67%$1,707 – $2,778
Minnesota MN12$1,850+11%$1,577 – $1,850
Wisconsin WI13$1,726+4%$1,726 – $2,524
Indiana IN13$1,178−29%$1,031 – $1,666
Iowa IA14$833−50%$833 – $955
Michigan MI13$661−60%$488 – $4,499
Illinois IL14$650−61%$258 – $1,441
Oregon OR10$649−61%$649 – $1,153
Oklahoma OK12$568−66%$568 – $568
Pennsylvania PA18$265−84%$216 – $5,486
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not 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
Maine ME1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC1not 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 $1,666.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care246$1,726$568 – $4,499
Children’s8fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access50$1,666$579 – $2,524
Ownership
For-profit33$2,205$556 – $5,299
Government41$889$523 – $3,840
Non-profit230$1,666$577 – $4,499
System affiliation
Part of a system254$1,726$568 – $4,609
Independent50$855$563 – $2,717

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,492
Median cash price$1,666
Cash as a share of list, median hospital60%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 40%. 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

169 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $833 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,519; most fall between $488 and $4,609.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 169 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
$310$556$833$3,591$7,286

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 24× what the cheapest tenth charges ($310 vs $7,286).

Of the 178 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 169 gave a usable cash price; 7 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

304 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 321 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted304
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here13
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 code321

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 5, 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 diagnostic procedures on musculoskeletal system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as PR Biopsy Synovium MC-P Jt.

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, “Opening a knuckle joint to take a tissue sample (CPT 26105) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-26105-opening-a-knuckle-joint-to-take-a-tissue-sample