Knee arthroscopy cost in Chicago, IL without insurance
In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median cash price for Knee arthroscopy is $8,410.39 across 19 hospitals. The lowest, $549.19, is at Humboldt Park Health (Chicago). The US median is $5,622.74.
Knee arthroscopy uses a small camera and tools through tiny cuts to trim or repair a torn meniscus, rebuild a torn ACL or smooth damaged cartilage. It is almost always same-day surgery. The price depends on what is done inside the knee, and ACL reconstruction costs much more than a simple meniscus trim.
Collected Nov 11, 2026 One price per hospital: its lowest outpatient cash price for the code
Knee arthroscopy prices in Chicago, IL by type
29881 is arthroscopy with a meniscus trim and is used in the state table; 29880 trims both menisci; 29888 is ACL reconstruction; 29882 is a meniscus repair; and 29877 is cartilage smoothing.
| Procedure | Hospitals | Lowest | Median | US median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knee arthroscopy Knee arthroscopy with meniscus trim · code 29881 | 19 | $549.19 | $8,410.39 | $5,622.74 |
| Knee arthroscopy (both menisci) Knee arthroscopy with removal of both torn meniscus parts · code 29880 | 19 | $558.01 | $6,862.58 | $5,642.80 |
| ACL reconstruction Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction or repair of the knee · code 29888 | 19 | $1,004.60 | $15,457.64 | $9,977.57 |
| Knee arthroscopy, meniscus repair Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair (one side of the knee) · code 29882 | 19 | $609.84 | $9,176.15 | $6,014.40 |
| Knee arthroscopy, cartilage smoothing Knee arthroscopy with smoothing of damaged cartilage (chondroplasty) · code 29877 | 14 | $631.22 | $11,964.32 | $4,899.91 |
Outpatient cash prices in Chicago, IL. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest cash price for the code; prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Pick a procedure to compare every hospital in the area.
Lowest Knee arthroscopy prices in Chicago, IL
- Humboldt Park Health, Chicago$549.19
- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital, Chicago$1,013.60
- Morris Hospital, Morris$1,681.55
- Mercy Medical Center, Aurora$3,489.00
- Saint Francis Hospital, Evanston$3,489.00
Paying cash: what to do
- Ask for a bundled self-pay price that includes the surgeon, anesthesia, facility and follow-up visits; hospital file prices usually cover only the facility.
- Ask whether the price includes the brace, crutches and physical therapy after surgery.
- Ambulatory surgery centers usually charge much less than hospital outpatient departments for the same arthroscopy.