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Procedure price report · Excision of semilunar cartilage of knee

Knee arthroscopy with meniscus removal, both inner and outer

CPT 29880the billing code this page is about

Keyhole knee surgery removing torn meniscus cushion from both the inner and outer sides of the knee, including any cartilage shaving in the same areas.

Hospitals typically charge $3,270 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,066 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,655. Most fall between $1,299 and $8,000 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,066
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – 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 1,066 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
$919$1,468$3,270$6,826$12,928

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($919 vs $12,928).

How the prices are spread

$598 – $839: 33 hospitals$598$839 – $1,176: 89 hospitals$1,176 – $1,650: 135 hospitals$1,176$1,650 – $2,314: 119 hospitals$2,314 – $3,246: 98 hospitals$2,314$3,246 – $4,552: 129 hospitals$4,552 – $6,385: 120 hospitals$4,552$6,385 – $8,955: 104 hospitals$8,955 – $12,560: 74 hospitals$8,955$12,560 – $17,616: 60 hospitals$12,560median $3,270price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (961 of 1,066 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$598$83933
$839$1,17689
$1,176$1,650135
$1,650$2,314119
$2,314$3,24698
$3,246$4,552129
$4,552$6,385120
$6,385$8,955104
$8,955$12,56074
$12,560$17,61660

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,343
Median cash price$3,270
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.98×

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 $3,270.

Alaska: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: median $790 across 10 hospitalsVT$790New Hampshire: median $1,300 across 13 hospitalsNH$1,300Washington: median $2,093 across 27 hospitalsWA$2,093Idaho: median $5,572 across 19 hospitalsID$5,572Montana: median $1,057 across 12 hospitalsMT$1,057North Dakota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $2,751 across 42 hospitalsMN$2,751Illinois: median $2,314 across 41 hospitalsIL$2,314Wisconsin: median $3,035 across 43 hospitalsWI$3,035Michigan: median $2,162 across 46 hospitalsMI$2,162New York: median $3,840 across 63 hospitalsNY$3,840Massachusetts: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $1,645 across 29 hospitalsOR$1,645Nevada: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,508 across 55 hospitalsIA$1,508Indiana: median $3,910 across 31 hospitalsIN$3,910Ohio: median $10,550 across 44 hospitalsOH$10,550Pennsylvania: median $3,218 across 34 hospitalsPA$3,218New Jersey: median $4,330 across 35 hospitalsNJ$4,330Connecticut: 4 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 $4,065 across 66 hospitalsCA$4,065Utah: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $1,223 across 14 hospitalsCO$1,223Nebraska: median $2,177 across 22 hospitalsNE$2,177Missouri: median $5,913 across 34 hospitalsMO$5,913Kentucky: median $2,166 across 16 hospitalsKY$2,166West Virginia: median $3,260 across 24 hospitalsWV$3,260Virginia: median $10,385 across 18 hospitalsVA$10,385Maryland: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $3,704 across 14 hospitalsAZ$3,704New Mexico: median $3,394 across 10 hospitalsNM$3,394Kansas: median $1,797 across 31 hospitalsKS$1,797Arkansas: median $3,588 across 16 hospitalsAR$3,588Tennessee: median $5,692 across 19 hospitalsTN$5,692North Carolina: median $4,871 across 14 hospitalsNC$4,871South Carolina: median $4,523 across 10 hospitalsSC$4,523Oklahoma: median $2,029 across 21 hospitalsOK$2,029Louisiana: median $4,351 across 17 hospitalsLA$4,351Mississippi: median $7,169 across 13 hospitalsMS$7,169Alabama: median $3,170 across 17 hospitalsAL$3,170Georgia: median $8,718 across 15 hospitalsGA$8,718Hawaii: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $5,706 across 46 hospitalsTX$5,706Florida: median $6,046 across 17 hospitalsFL$6,046
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $3,270. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Ohio OH44$10,550+223%$2,114 – $20,746
Virginia VA18$10,385+218%$889 – $14,041
Georgia GA15$8,718+167%$2,637 – $8,718
Mississippi MS13$7,169+119%$1,688 – $8,573
Florida FL17$6,046+85%$2,114 – $19,729
Missouri MO34$5,913+81%$1,180 – $11,702
Texas TX46$5,706+74%$2,794 – $8,444
Tennessee TN19$5,692+74%$903 – $7,745
Idaho ID19$5,572+70%$1,138 – $7,463
North Carolina NC14$4,871+49%$2,168 – $14,474
South Carolina SC10$4,523+38%$3,614 – $13,158
Louisiana LA17$4,351+33%$2,986 – $7,845
New Jersey NJ35$4,330+32%$3,591 – $5,419
California CA66$4,065+24%$1,472 – $9,996
Indiana IN31$3,910+20%$1,333 – $10,513
New York NY63$3,840+17%$1,573 – $4,595
Arizona AZ14$3,704+13%$877 – $11,632
Arkansas AR16$3,588+10%$1,735 – $4,624
New Mexico NM10$3,394+4%$1,015 – $13,270
West Virginia WV24$3,2600%$1,313 – $5,917
Pennsylvania PA34$3,218−2%$383 – $6,852
Alabama AL17$3,170−3%$2,222 – $11,288
Wisconsin WI43$3,035−7%$2,757 – $6,676
Minnesota MN42$2,751−16%$1,503 – $5,471
Illinois IL41$2,314−29%$1,131 – $8,485
Nebraska NE22$2,177−33%$860 – $4,378
Kentucky KY16$2,166−34%$869 – $6,705
Michigan MI46$2,162−34%$1,192 – $5,031
Washington WA27$2,093−36%$1,299 – $6,599
Oklahoma OK21$2,029−38%$1,180 – $6,860
Kansas KS31$1,797−45%$926 – $4,462
Oregon OR29$1,645−50%$1,049 – $2,388
Iowa IA55$1,508−54%$1,315 – $2,821
New Hampshire NH13$1,300−60%$466 – $4,417
Colorado CO14$1,223−63%$974 – $7,053
Montana MT12$1,057−68%$629 – $3,780
Vermont VT10$790−76%$491 – $2,317
Maine ME9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not 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 $3,270.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care713$4,083$1,472 – $9,996
Children’s15fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access337$1,850$1,036 – $5,297
Ownership
For-profit138$6,154$2,794 – $12,984
Government202$2,168$1,222 – $5,146
Non-profit725$3,245$1,188 – $7,689
System affiliation
Part of a system799$3,786$1,405 – $9,439
Independent267$2,286$1,133 – $5,596

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,422
Median cash price$3,270
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

450 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,917 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,357; most fall between $986 and $5,706.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 450 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
$634$1,133$1,917$4,485$8,372

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 13× what the cheapest tenth charges ($634 vs $8,372).

Of the 516 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 450 gave a usable cash price; 25 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 41 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,066 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (27%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,178 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,066
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here64
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded9
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded39
Hospitals that filed this code1,178

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 Excision of semilunar cartilage of knee family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Arthrs Knee W/Meniscectomy Med&Lat W/Shaving.

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, “Knee arthroscopy with meniscus removal, both inner and outer (CPT 29880) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-29880-knee-arthroscopy-with-meniscus-removal-both-inner-and-outer