CPT 29838 · 987 hospitals reporting

Arthroscopy, elbow, surgical; debridement, extensive

The same procedure costs $140 at one hospital and $23,258 at another — a 167× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $2,010.

Cheapest published

$140

3 entries below $50 already filtered. Remaining low values usually reflect partial-cost line items (professional fee only), not full bills.

Median across 987 hospitals

$2,010

The realistic middle of the cash-price distribution. Use this as your benchmark.

Most expensive

$23,258

Highest published price. Often a gross-charge "list price" rarely actually paid.

Price distribution

150 hospitals · log-scale x-axis

Each bar = number of hospitals charging in that price range. Emerald bar contains the median. Amber dots = entries we flagged as likely partial-cost line items (excluded from the table below).

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Why some prices look unrealistically low or high

Hospitals publish their machine-readable files (MRFs) the way they choose. A single procedure code can appear with very different prices depending on what's being charged:

Global price — facility + implant + anesthesia + surgeon. This is what you'd actually be billed.
Professional fee only — surgeon's portion. Often $500–$2,500 for a major procedure that costs $20K+ globally.
Facility fee only — operating room and recovery, no implant or surgeon.
Per-unit / per-minute charges — e.g. anesthesia time billed at $0.68/min appearing under a CPT code.
Rate multipliers — values like 0.85 meaning "85% of Medicare" rather than dollars.

We filter the most obvious artifacts (under $50, or 25× above the median), but rows in the $500–$2K range for a major procedure are typically professional-only and we can't always tell. Use the median and high-end as the realistic range; treat very low rows as partial-cost line items, not full bills.

500 hospitals reporting

Hospital	State	Gross	Cash price	Min negotiated	Max negotiated	Your insurer
BAYLOR MEDICAL CENTER AT TROPHY CLUB	TX	$3,363	$2,018	$1,850	$8,427	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY OF MD ST JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER	MD	$2,003	$2,003	—	—	1 insurers
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL SWEETWATER COUNTY	WY	$2,022	$2,022	—	—	5 insurers
COQUILLE VALLEY HOSPITAL	OR	—	$2,073	$644	$2,892	5 insurers
SPECIALISTS HOSPITAL SHREVEPORT	LA	$2,082	$2,082	$1,105	$4,021	5 insurers
RIVER'S EDGE HOSPITAL & CLINIC	MN	$2,418	$1,934	—	—	5 insurers
NORTH CENTRAL SURGICAL CENTER LLP	TX	$3,157	$1,894	$1,736	$8,427	5 insurers
SIDNEY HEALTH CENTER	MT	$3,051	$1,889	—	—	5 insurers
SIDNEY HEALTH CENTER	MT	$3,051	$1,889	—	—	4 insurers
BAPTIST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER - JACKSONVILLE	FL	$11,308	$2,148	—	—	5 insurers
FLUSHING HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER	NY	$1,847	$1,847	—	—	5 insurers
BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE ORTHOPEDIC AND SPINE HOSPI	TX	$3,762	$2,257	$2,069	$8,427	5 insurers
RED BAY HOSPITAL	AL	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
SANTA CLARA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - WALNUT CREEK	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
SUTTER MEDICAL CENTER, SACRAMENTO	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
SUTTER ROSEVILLE MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - REDWOOD CITY	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
FRESNO SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL MANTECA	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SAN LEANDRO	CA	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
MT SAN RAFAEL HOSPITAL	CO	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
SANTA ROSA MEDICAL CENTER	FL	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
COMMUNITY HOSPITAL SOUTH, INC.	IN	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL WESTSIDE	OR	$4,110	$2,302	—	—	3 insurers
BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE SURGICAL HOSPITAL FORTWORTH	TX	$3,837	$2,302	$2,110	$8,427	5 insurers
BROADLAWNS MEDICAL CENTER	IA	$1,669	$1,669	—	—	5 insurers
CHEYENNE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	WY	$3,378	$2,365	—	—	2 insurers
CHESHIRE MEDICAL CENTER	NH	$5,672	$1,565	—	—	5 insurers
THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT HEALTH NETWORK-ALICE HY	NY	$2,455	$2,455	—	—	5 insurers
MORRIS HOSPITAL & HEALTHCARE CENTERS	IL	$6,422	$1,545	—	—	5 insurers
CODY REGIONAL HEALTH	WY	$1,811	$1,539	—	—	5 insurers
CENTRAL VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER	VT	$1,527	$1,527	—	—	5 insurers
TOPS SURGICAL SPECIALTY HOSPITAL	TX	$7,137	$2,498	$1	$7,807	5 insurers
BALDWIN HEALTH	AL	$2,830	$1,472	—	—	3 insurers
PIH HEALTH DOWNEY HOSPITAL	CA	$2,830	$1,472	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SOUTH BAY	CA	$2,830	$1,472	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - ORANGE COUNTY - ANAHEIM	CA	$2,830	$1,472	—	—	3 insurers
LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY HOSPITAL	CA	$2,830	$1,472	—	—	3 insurers
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SAN MARCOS	CA	$2,830	$1,472	—	—	3 insurers