Knee arthroscopy cost in California without insurance
In California, the median cash price for Knee arthroscopy is $5,148.00 across 62 hospitals, from $856.80 to $26,211.60. The lowest is at Healdsburg Hospital (Healdsburg). The US median is $5,622.74.
California law (Health and Safety Code §127405): if you are uninsured or have high medical costs and your family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, a hospital may not expect you to pay more than it would expect from Medicare or Medi-Cal, whichever is greater. That can be less than the cash prices below; ask the hospital for its discount payment policy. A separate physician fee may still apply. Other states' laws.
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 8, 2026 One price per hospital: its lowest outpatient cash price for the code
Knee arthroscopy prices in California 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 | Range | Median | US median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knee arthroscopy Knee arthroscopy with meniscus trim · code 29881 | 62 | $856.80–$26,211.60 | $5,148.00 | $5,622.74 |
| Knee arthroscopy (both menisci) Knee arthroscopy with removal of both torn meniscus parts · code 29880 | 58 | $890.97–$27,152.40 | $4,187.00 | $5,642.80 |
| ACL reconstruction Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction or repair of the knee · code 29888 | 57 | $1,541.22–$33,927.57 | $9,286.00 | $9,977.57 |
| Knee arthroscopy, meniscus repair Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair (one side of the knee) · code 29882 | 55 | $1,098.03–$33,557.85 | $4,187.00 | $6,014.40 |
| Knee arthroscopy, cartilage smoothing Knee arthroscopy with smoothing of damaged cartilage (chondroplasty) · code 29877 | 51 | $936.62–$28,210.80 | $9,465.00 | $4,899.91 |
Outpatient cash prices in California. 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 state.
Lowest Knee arthroscopy prices in California
- Healdsburg Hospital, Healdsburg$856.80
- Oroville Hospital, Oroville$2,090.00
- Scripps Green Hospital, La Jolla$2,963.99
- Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Encinitas$2,963.99
- Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, La Jolla$2,963.99
Knee arthroscopy cost by metro area in California
Knee arthroscopy cost in other states
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
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.