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Procedure price report · Excision of semilunar cartilage of knee

Knee arthroscopy with removal of torn cartilage

CPT 29881the billing code this page is about

Keyhole knee surgery through small incisions to trim or remove the damaged meniscus cartilage on one side of the joint, including smoothing of frayed cartilage found during the same operation.

Hospitals typically charge $3,324 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,159 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $3,715. Most fall between $1,211 and $8,011 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,159
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 1,159 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
$874$1,454$3,324$7,004$12,626

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($874 vs $12,626).

How the prices are spread

$586 – $827: 41 hospitals$586$827 – $1,166: 117 hospitals$1,166 – $1,645: 121 hospitals$1,166$1,645 – $2,321: 122 hospitals$2,321 – $3,274: 120 hospitals$2,321$3,274 – $4,618: 144 hospitals$4,618 – $6,514: 113 hospitals$4,618$6,514 – $9,189: 130 hospitals$9,189 – $12,962: 82 hospitals$9,189$12,962 – $18,284: 57 hospitals$12,962median $3,324price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,047 of 1,159 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$586$82741
$827$1,166117
$1,166$1,645121
$1,645$2,321122
$2,321$3,274120
$3,274$4,618144
$4,618$6,514113
$6,514$9,189130
$9,189$12,96282
$12,962$18,28457

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,343
Median cash price$3,324
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.99×

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 $3,324.

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 $1,062 across 11 hospitalsVT$1,062New Hampshire: median $1,157 across 13 hospitalsNH$1,157Washington: median $1,869 across 31 hospitalsWA$1,869Idaho: median $5,562 across 19 hospitalsID$5,562Montana: median $1,142 across 14 hospitalsMT$1,142North Dakota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $2,632 across 43 hospitalsMN$2,632Illinois: median $2,180 across 42 hospitalsIL$2,180Wisconsin: median $2,852 across 42 hospitalsWI$2,852Michigan: median $1,800 across 47 hospitalsMI$1,800New York: median $3,840 across 65 hospitalsNY$3,840Massachusetts: median $10,075 across 18 hospitalsMA$10,075Oregon: median $1,569 across 30 hospitalsOR$1,569Nevada: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 6 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 $1,475 across 59 hospitalsIA$1,475Indiana: median $3,609 across 34 hospitalsIN$3,609Ohio: median $10,601 across 47 hospitalsOH$10,601Pennsylvania: median $3,139 across 34 hospitalsPA$3,139New Jersey: median $4,130 across 36 hospitalsNJ$4,130Connecticut: 6 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 $5,148 across 69 hospitalsCA$5,148Utah: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: median $1,348 across 18 hospitalsCO$1,348Nebraska: median $2,580 across 43 hospitalsNE$2,580Missouri: median $3,535 across 33 hospitalsMO$3,535Kentucky: median $1,961 across 16 hospitalsKY$1,961West Virginia: median $2,837 across 24 hospitalsWV$2,837Virginia: median $8,504 across 21 hospitalsVA$8,504Maryland: 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 $3,257 across 16 hospitalsAZ$3,257New Mexico: median $3,489 across 11 hospitalsNM$3,489Kansas: median $1,720 across 30 hospitalsKS$1,720Arkansas: median $2,791 across 17 hospitalsAR$2,791Tennessee: median $5,122 across 20 hospitalsTN$5,122North Carolina: median $3,677 across 15 hospitalsNC$3,677South Carolina: median $4,545 across 11 hospitalsSC$4,545Oklahoma: median $1,812 across 21 hospitalsOK$1,812Louisiana: median $4,792 across 21 hospitalsLA$4,792Mississippi: median $4,442 across 16 hospitalsMS$4,442Alabama: median $3,170 across 18 hospitalsAL$3,170Georgia: median $11,309 across 15 hospitalsGA$11,309Hawaii: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $5,896 across 49 hospitalsTX$5,896Florida: median $13,900 across 24 hospitalsFL$13,900
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $3,324. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL24$13,900+318%$2,010 – $31,046
Georgia GA15$11,309+240%$2,581 – $11,629
Ohio OH47$10,601+219%$2,010 – $20,137
Massachusetts MA18$10,075+203%$2,728 – $10,075
Virginia VA21$8,504+156%$2,228 – $13,180
Texas TX49$5,896+77%$2,653 – $10,448
Idaho ID19$5,562+67%$1,097 – $6,877
California CA69$5,148+55%$1,803 – $7,325
Tennessee TN20$5,122+54%$844 – $6,595
Louisiana LA21$4,792+44%$2,778 – $8,337
South Carolina SC11$4,545+37%$3,614 – $13,394
Mississippi MS16$4,442+34%$1,168 – $8,332
New Jersey NJ36$4,130+24%$3,591 – $5,339
New York NY65$3,840+16%$1,541 – $4,595
North Carolina NC15$3,677+11%$1,746 – $11,126
Indiana IN34$3,609+9%$1,190 – $12,386
Missouri MO33$3,535+6%$961 – $8,816
New Mexico NM11$3,489+5%$979 – $13,692
Arizona AZ16$3,257−2%$844 – $10,321
Alabama AL18$3,170−5%$1,524 – $11,315
Pennsylvania PA34$3,139−6%$369 – $6,114
Wisconsin WI42$2,852−14%$2,659 – $4,193
West Virginia WV24$2,837−15%$1,082 – $7,830
Arkansas AR17$2,791−16%$1,215 – $3,963
Minnesota MN43$2,632−21%$1,248 – $4,674
Nebraska NE43$2,580−22%$1,186 – $9,800
Illinois IL42$2,180−34%$868 – $7,164
Kentucky KY16$1,961−41%$837 – $10,590
Washington WA31$1,869−44%$1,139 – $5,460
Oklahoma OK21$1,812−46%$1,136 – $7,526
Michigan MI47$1,800−46%$990 – $4,499
Kansas KS30$1,720−48%$986 – $4,462
Oregon OR30$1,569−53%$1,011 – $1,908
Iowa IA59$1,475−56%$1,248 – $2,931
Colorado CO18$1,348−59%$1,085 – $7,138
New Hampshire NH13$1,157−65%$443 – $3,884
Montana MT14$1,142−66%$606 – $4,165
Vermont VT11$1,062−68%$455 – $2,235
Maine ME9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT5not 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 $3,324.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care766$4,208$1,617 – $10,075
Children’s21$2,462$1,524 – $6,391
Critical access370$1,804$979 – $4,970
Ownership
For-profit147$6,187$2,852 – $12,334
Government234$2,015$1,102 – $5,460
Non-profit776$3,270$1,193 – $7,544
System affiliation
Part of a system867$3,821$1,330 – $9,150
Independent292$2,064$1,014 – $5,706

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,387
Median cash price$3,324
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

491 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,983 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,556; most fall between $946 and $5,974.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 491 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
$586$1,091$1,983$5,148$8,187

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 14× what the cheapest tenth charges ($586 vs $8,187).

Of the 554 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 491 gave a usable cash price; 26 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 37 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,159 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (29%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,277 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,159
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here67
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded10
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded41
Hospitals that filed this code1,277

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 Kne Surg W/Meniscectomy Med/Lat W/Shvg.

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 removal of torn cartilage (CPT 29881) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-29881-knee-arthroscopy-with-removal-of-torn-cartilage