A typical arthroscopy in the United States costs between $3,000 and $7,000, though the final number depends heavily on which joint is involved, where the procedure is performed, and whether you have insurance. A simple knee scope at a surgery center might run around $3,200, while a shoulder repair at a hospital could push well past $6,000. Understanding what drives these differences can save you thousands of dollars on the same procedure.
Costs by Joint and Procedure Type
Not all arthroscopies carry the same price tag. The joint being treated and the complexity of the repair both matter. For knee arthroscopy with cartilage removal, one of the most common procedures, average cash prices range from about $3,100 to $4,300 at surgery centers and $4,800 to $6,600 at hospital outpatient departments, depending on the state. Shoulder arthroscopy tends to fall in a similar range, with total costs averaging around $3,600 at surgery centers and $6,300 at hospitals. Hip arthroscopy averages roughly $3,600 at a surgery center and $6,700 at a hospital.
A purely diagnostic arthroscopy, where the surgeon looks inside the joint without performing a repair, costs less than a therapeutic one. Medicare data puts a diagnostic knee arthroscopy at around $600 for the physician’s portion alone, but a meniscus repair billed through a hospital outpatient facility adds roughly $2,100 in facility fees on top of that. In practice, most arthroscopies end up being both diagnostic and therapeutic: the surgeon takes a look, finds the problem, and fixes it during the same session.
Why the Facility You Choose Matters Most
The single biggest factor in your final bill is whether the procedure happens at a hospital outpatient department or an ambulatory surgery center (sometimes called an ASC or simply a “surgery center”). Research published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine found that across 62 common sports medicine procedures, total costs were 40% lower at surgery centers compared to hospitals. Facility fees specifically were 45% lower.
The savings break down by joint:
- Shoulder procedures: 42% lower total costs at surgery centers
- Knee procedures: 36% lower total costs
- Hip procedures: 46% lower total costs
For patients paying out of pocket, the difference translated to $400 to $500 more per procedure at a hospital. That gap exists because hospitals carry higher overhead and charge separate facility fees that surgery centers either don’t charge or charge at lower rates. The quality of care and complication rates for arthroscopy are comparable between the two settings, which is why insurers increasingly steer patients toward surgery centers for these outpatient procedures.
What You’re Actually Being Billed For
An arthroscopy bill isn’t one charge. It arrives as several separate bills, which is why the total can be confusing. The main components are the surgeon’s professional fee, the facility fee (the room, equipment, nursing staff, and supplies), and the anesthesia fee. Anesthesia is calculated using a formula that multiplies a base value for the procedure type by the number of time units, then applies a conversion factor that varies by insurer and region. For a typical arthroscopy lasting 30 to 60 minutes, anesthesia charges often fall between $500 and $1,500.
You may also receive a separate bill if the anesthesiologist places a nerve block for post-operative pain control, since that’s billed as its own procedure. Each of these bills, the surgeon’s, the facility’s, and the anesthesiologist’s, may come from different billing offices and arrive at different times. If your surgeon is in-network but the anesthesiologist isn’t, federal No Surprises Act protections generally limit what you can be billed, but it’s worth confirming before the procedure.
Costs Before and After Surgery
The arthroscopy itself isn’t the only expense. Before surgery, most patients need an MRI and at least one orthopedic consultation. The cost of an MRI varies dramatically by where you get it: the national average at a hospital is $1,855, compared to $682 at a freestanding imaging center, according to UnitedHealthcare data. That’s nearly a $1,200 difference for the same scan. X-rays, which are usually the first imaging step, typically cost $50 to $300.
After surgery, you’ll likely have physical therapy sessions ranging from a few weeks to several months depending on the joint and procedure. Each session typically costs $75 to $250 before insurance. Prescription pain medication, a post-operative brace or sling, and one or two follow-up office visits add a few hundred dollars more. When budgeting for an arthroscopy, adding $1,000 to $3,000 for the full cycle of pre- and post-surgical care gives a more realistic picture.
What Insurance and Medicare Cover
Most private insurance plans cover arthroscopy when it’s deemed medically necessary, meaning your surgeon has documented that conservative treatments like physical therapy or injections haven’t resolved the problem. Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible, copay, and coinsurance. If you haven’t met your annual deductible, you could owe the full negotiated rate up to that deductible amount, plus your coinsurance percentage after that.
For Medicare beneficiaries, Original Medicare pays 80% of the approved amount, and the patient owes 20% coinsurance. For context, Medicare’s approved amount for a total knee replacement (a more extensive procedure than a simple arthroscopy) is about $10,550 at a surgery center and $14,275 at a hospital outpatient department. Arthroscopic procedures cost considerably less, but the 80/20 split applies the same way. Medicare also caps hospital outpatient copayments, which in some cases reduces the patient’s share below the straight 20% calculation.
How Geography Affects Price
Where you live can shift the cost of an arthroscopy by thousands of dollars. For knee arthroscopy with cartilage removal, cash prices at surgery centers range from about $3,160 in Arkansas to $4,313 in Alaska. Hospital outpatient prices show even wider gaps: $4,840 in Arkansas versus $6,606 in Alaska.
Research on rotator cuff repair pricing found that hospitals in the Northeast and West charge significantly more than those in the Midwest, while hospitals in the South tend to charge less. States with certificate-of-need regulations, which limit how many surgical facilities can operate in an area, actually had lower listed prices ($6,500 versus $8,000 for rotator cuff repair). Cost of living, local competition among surgical facilities, and state regulatory environments all play a role.
How to Lower Your Out-of-Pocket Cost
If you have flexibility in where and when you schedule the procedure, a few strategies can meaningfully reduce your bill. Choosing a surgery center over a hospital is the most impactful single decision, potentially cutting total costs by 36% to 46%. Getting your pre-surgical MRI at a freestanding imaging center rather than a hospital can save over $1,000.
If you’re uninsured or paying cash, call the surgery center’s billing department directly and ask for their all-inclusive cash price. Many facilities offer bundled pricing for self-pay patients that wraps the surgeon, facility, and anesthesia into one number, often 20% to 40% below the sticker price. Timing your procedure so it falls after you’ve already met your insurance deductible for the year (perhaps after other medical expenses earlier in the year) can also reduce what you owe. And if you receive a bill that seems high, requesting an itemized statement and comparing it against the facility’s published prices, which hospitals are now required to post online, gives you a starting point for negotiation.