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Procedure price report · Division of joint capsule, ligament or cartilage

Release of tight knuckle joint capsule, each joint

CPT 26520the billing code this page is about

Surgery to cut and release the tightened capsule of a knuckle joint (where a finger meets the hand) to improve motion; billed once for each joint treated.

Hospitals typically charge $2,319 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 440 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,396. Most fall between $1,135 and $4,091 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
440
States
46
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – 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 440 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
$898$1,277$2,319$3,804$6,640

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.4× what the cheapest tenth charges ($898 vs $6,640).

How the prices are spread

$597 – $781: 15 hospitals$597$781 – $1,021: 39 hospitals$1,021 – $1,335: 45 hospitals$1,021$1,335 – $1,745: 67 hospitals$1,745 – $2,282: 31 hospitals$1,745$2,282 – $2,984: 52 hospitals$2,984 – $3,901: 74 hospitals$2,984$3,901 – $5,101: 25 hospitals$5,101 – $6,670: 33 hospitals$5,101$6,670 – $8,722: 17 hospitals$6,670median $2,319price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (398 of 440 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$597$78115
$781$1,02139
$1,021$1,33545
$1,335$1,74567
$1,745$2,28231
$2,282$2,98452
$2,984$3,90174
$3,901$5,10125
$5,101$6,67033
$6,670$8,72217

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,343
Median cash price$2,319
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.69×

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 $2,319.

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: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: median $3,330 across 12 hospitalsID$3,330Montana: 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 $3,014 across 19 hospitalsMN$3,014Illinois: median $1,257 across 16 hospitalsIL$1,257Wisconsin: median $3,124 across 22 hospitalsWI$3,124Michigan: median $1,082 across 27 hospitalsMI$1,082New York: median $3,840 across 26 hospitalsNY$3,840Massachusetts: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,619 across 17 hospitalsIA$1,619Indiana: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $1,422 across 12 hospitalsOH$1,422Pennsylvania: median $2,713 across 19 hospitalsPA$2,713New Jersey: median $3,786 across 30 hospitalsNJ$3,786Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $2,811 across 36 hospitalsCA$2,811Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $1,006 across 11 hospitalsMO$1,006Kentucky: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $1,423 across 14 hospitalsOK$1,423Louisiana: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $2,527 across 26 hospitalsTX$2,527Florida: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,319. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New York NY26$3,840+66%$1,578 – $3,884
New Jersey NJ30$3,786+63%$1,732 – $5,339
Idaho ID12$3,330+44%$1,803 – $8,372
Wisconsin WI22$3,124+35%$1,566 – $3,124
Minnesota MN19$3,014+30%$1,496 – $3,537
California CA36$2,811+21%$2,077 – $3,012
Pennsylvania PA19$2,713+17%$277 – $5,486
Texas TX26$2,527+9%$2,153 – $2,794
Iowa IA17$1,619−30%$1,619 – $1,683
Oklahoma OK14$1,423−39%$1,423 – $6,615
Ohio OH12$1,422−39%$1,313 – $2,982
Illinois IL16$1,257−46%$946 – $1,827
Michigan MI27$1,082−53%$898 – $3,124
Missouri MO11$1,006−57%$993 – $6,116
Alabama AL9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME1not 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 $2,319.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care348$2,580$1,177 – $4,579
Children’s14fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access78$1,683$1,039 – $3,124
Ownership
For-profit54$3,139$1,294 – $7,197
Government68$1,683$1,029 – $3,840
Non-profit318$2,489$1,149 – $3,884
System affiliation
Part of a system341$2,713$1,187 – $4,084
Independent99$1,861$1,106 – $4,579

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,703
Median cash price$2,319
Cash as a share of list, median hospital61%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 39%. 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

225 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,857 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,097; most fall between $1,029 and $3,124.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 225 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
$765$1,248$1,857$3,012$6,637

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($765 vs $6,637).

Of the 246 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 225 gave a usable cash price; 14 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 7 a list price only.

How complete is this

440 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (11%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 481 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted440
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here32
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 — excluded9
Hospitals that filed this code481

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 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 Division of joint capsule, ligament or cartilage family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as PR Release MC-P Jt Contracture.

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, “Release of tight knuckle joint capsule, each joint (CPT 26520) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-26520-release-of-tight-knuckle-joint-capsule-each-joint