A hip replacement in the United States typically costs between $10,000 and $50,000, depending on where the surgery is performed, what type of facility you use, and how you’re insured. The range is wide because hospital pricing varies enormously, and your out-of-pocket share depends heavily on your coverage. Here’s what actually drives that number and what you can expect to pay.
Average Cost by Facility Type
The single biggest factor in your total bill is whether the surgery happens in a hospital or an outpatient surgical center. Outpatient joint replacements performed at ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) cost about 40% less than the same procedure done in a hospital. One study found the average outpatient surgery cost was $11,677, compared to $19,361 for inpatient hospital surgery.
Medicare’s national averages tell a similar story. For an outpatient hip replacement at a surgical center, the total Medicare-approved cost is about $10,776, with $9,614 going to the facility and $1,162 to the surgeon. At a hospital outpatient department, the total jumps to $14,278, with the facility portion rising to $13,116 while the surgeon’s fee stays the same. The surgeon gets paid roughly the same either way. It’s the facility fee that inflates the price.
For patients without insurance, the picture looks very different. Cash prices at U.S. hospitals range from roughly $23,000 to over $70,000, with some high-cost urban hospitals charging above $100,000. That enormous spread reflects differences in hospital markup, regional cost of living, and whether the facility is a teaching hospital or specialty center.
What Medicare Patients Pay
Original Medicare covers hip replacement and pays 80% of the approved amount, leaving you responsible for the remaining 20%. At a hospital outpatient department, the average patient share comes to about $1,968. At an ambulatory surgical center, it’s roughly $2,154. The surgical center total is lower, but Medicare’s cost-sharing formula means your personal portion can actually be slightly higher there.
The surgeon’s reimbursement from Medicare averages about $1,375 for a total hip replacement. That amount covers the surgery itself plus all follow-up office visits and care for 90 days afterward. If you have a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, it may cover most or all of that 20% coinsurance, bringing your out-of-pocket cost close to zero beyond your premiums.
What Private Insurance Covers
Most private insurance plans cover hip replacement as a medically necessary procedure once conservative treatments like physical therapy and injections have been tried. Your actual cost depends on your plan’s deductible, coinsurance rate, and out-of-pocket maximum. If you’ve already met your annual deductible, you’ll typically owe a percentage (often 10% to 20%) of the negotiated rate until you hit your out-of-pocket cap.
For someone with a common employer-sponsored plan, expect to pay somewhere between $1,500 and $6,000 out of pocket. High-deductible plans can push that higher. The key number to check isn’t the sticker price of the surgery but your plan’s annual out-of-pocket maximum, because a hip replacement is expensive enough that many patients hit that ceiling, which caps your total spending for the year.
Costs Beyond the Surgery Itself
The price tag your surgeon or hospital quotes usually covers the procedure and the immediate hospital stay, but recovery adds its own expenses. Physical therapy is the biggest one. A typical rehab program involves two to three sessions per week for four to eight weeks. Without insurance, sessions run $70 to $160 each. With insurance, copays drop to $25 to $60 per visit. At the high end, that’s 24 sessions at $160, adding nearly $4,000 to your total if you’re paying out of pocket.
Other costs that catch people off guard include pre-surgical imaging and bloodwork, a walker or cane, home modifications like a raised toilet seat or shower chair, and potentially a few weeks of reduced or lost income during recovery. Most people return to desk work within four to six weeks, but physically demanding jobs may require three months.
Why Prices Vary So Much by Location
Hip replacement costs vary dramatically across the country. Urban hospitals in the Northeast and West Coast tend to charge more than facilities in the South and Midwest. The same procedure at two hospitals in the same city can differ by tens of thousands of dollars. This isn’t because one surgeon is better than another. It reflects differences in hospital overhead, negotiated insurance rates, and local market competition.
If you have flexibility in where you get the surgery, comparing prices across facilities can save you thousands. Many insurers now offer price transparency tools, and some even provide financial incentives for choosing lower-cost surgical centers. Asking for a written estimate that includes facility fees, surgeon fees, anesthesia, and the implant cost gives you a clearer picture before committing.
Medical Tourism as an Alternative
Some uninsured or underinsured patients look abroad for more affordable surgery. Average hip replacement costs in popular medical tourism destinations are significantly lower than U.S. prices:
- India: $6,000 to $9,000
- Turkey: $7,000 to $10,000
- Thailand: $8,000 to $11,000
- Mexico: $10,000 to $15,000
- Poland: $8,500 to $12,000
These prices often include the hospital stay, implant, and initial rehab. The tradeoff is distance from home during recovery, the complexity of coordinating follow-up care with a local provider once you return, and varying standards of facility accreditation. Patients who go this route typically research internationally accredited hospitals and plan for at least two to three weeks abroad before flying home.
How to Lower Your Out-of-Pocket Cost
If you know a hip replacement is coming, timing and planning can reduce what you pay. Scheduling the surgery early in the calendar year means the cost applies to a fresh deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, potentially covering other medical expenses for the rest of the year under that same cap. Choosing an ambulatory surgical center over a hospital, when your surgeon offers the option, can cut the facility fee by thousands.
Ask your surgeon’s billing office for a complete cost estimate in writing, including anesthesia and the implant. Request the facility’s cash-pay or self-pay rate if you’re uninsured, as these negotiated prices are often 30% to 50% below the list price. Some orthopedic practices now offer bundled pricing that wraps the surgery, implant, anesthesia, and a set number of physical therapy visits into a single transparent quote, which removes the surprise of multiple separate bills arriving over months.