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Procedure price report · Arthroscopy

Diagnostic elbow arthroscopy, with or without tissue sample

CPT 29830the billing code this page is about

Keyhole examination of the inside of the elbow joint with a camera, including a sample of joint lining if taken.

Hospitals typically charge $2,303 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 273 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,577. Most fall between $789 and $5,110 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
273
States
40
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 273 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
$589$886$2,303$4,330$8,014

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($589 vs $8,014).

How the prices are spread

$350 – $480: 10 hospitals$350$480 – $660: 15 hospitals$660 – $907: 36 hospitals$660$907 – $1,245: 36 hospitals$1,245 – $1,711: 15 hospitals$1,245$1,711 – $2,350: 15 hospitals$2,350 – $3,229: 8 hospitals$2,350$3,229 – $4,436: 62 hospitals$4,436 – $6,094: 19 hospitals$4,436$6,094 – $8,372: 36 hospitals$6,094median $2,303price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (252 of 273 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$350$48010
$480$66015
$660$90736
$907$1,24536
$1,245$1,71115
$1,711$2,35015
$2,350$3,2298
$3,229$4,43662
$4,436$6,09419
$6,094$8,37236

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,343
Median cash price$2,303
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 $2,303.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $866 across 12 hospitalsIL$866Wisconsin: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWIMichigan: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMINew York: median $3,840 across 21 hospitalsNY$3,840Massachusetts: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMAOregon: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,121 across 16 hospitalsIA$1,121Indiana: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceINOhio: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: median $353 across 18 hospitalsPA$353New Jersey: median $4,330 across 29 hospitalsNJ$4,330Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $8,014 across 24 hospitalsCA$8,014Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVAMaryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNMKansas: 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: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $756 across 14 hospitalsOK$756Louisiana: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMSAlabama: 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: median $4,023 across 20 hospitalsTX$4,023Florida: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,303. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA24$8,014+248%$1,364 – $8,014
New Jersey NJ29$4,330+88%$3,594 – $5,419
Texas TX20$4,023+75%$1,707 – $4,023
New York NY21$3,840+67%$3,343 – $3,884
Iowa IA16$1,121−51%$1,121 – $1,121
Illinois IL12$866−62%$350 – $1,193
Oklahoma OK14$756−67%$756 – $3,347
Pennsylvania PA18$353−85%$288 – $5,486
Idaho ID8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Michigan MI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wisconsin WI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not 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 $2,303.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care222$3,546$783 – $5,419
Children’s9fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access42$1,196$845 – $4,023
Ownership
For-profit36$3,855$773 – $6,261
Government40$1,176$818 – $3,840
Non-profit197$2,279$783 – $5,038
System affiliation
Part of a system221$3,347$803 – $6,114
Independent52$1,196$789 – $3,719

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,764
Median cash price$2,303
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

152 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,383 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,317; most fall between $756 and $7,132.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 152 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
$576$818$1,383$5,486$8,014

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($576 vs $8,014).

Of the 170 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 152 gave a usable cash price; 13 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 5 a list price only.

How complete is this

273 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (7%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 306 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted273
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here27
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 — excluded5
Hospitals that filed this code306

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 Arthroscopy family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Arthroscopy Elbow Diag W/WO Synovial Biopsy Spx.

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, “Diagnostic elbow arthroscopy, with or without tissue sample (CPT 29830) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-29830-diagnostic-elbow-arthroscopy-with-or-without-tissue-sample