Surgery and procedures CPT 20550 Outpatient

Tendon sheath injection cost in St. Louis, MO

In St. Louis, MO-IL, 12 hospitals list a cash price for injection into a tendon sheath or ligament (for example trigger finger): from $147.55 to $1,282.23, with a median of $271.98. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Hospital Washington — $124.43 less than the median here. Across Missouri, the median is $173.55 at 29 hospitals.

Cash prices at 12 facilities across 9 cities for code 20550, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 24, 2026 and Jun 12, 2026.

Lowest$147.55Mercy Hospital Washington
Median$271.98half pay less
Highest$1,282.23in this market
Difference8.7×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in St. Louis, MO-IL.

median
Lowest $147.55Highest $1,282.23
one sideboth sides

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Mercy Hospital Washington lowest Washington, MO Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Mlp $147.55 $227.00 $251.65–$1,106.00 35% —
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Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MO Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Pf $173.55 $267.00 $32.65–$1,199.00 35% —
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Mercy Hospital Washington Washington, MO Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Pf $173.55 $267.00 $251.65–$1,106.00 35% —
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MO · (636) 528-8551 Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Pf $183.95 $283.00 $18.40–$283.00 35% —
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Ranken Jordan Home for Convalescent Crippled Children Hospital Maryland Heights, MO · (314) 872-6400 Injection(s), single tendon sheath, or ligament, aponeurosis $196.24 $245.30 — 20% Apr 24, 2026
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Mercy Hospitals East Communities Washington, MO Injection 1 Tendon Sheath/Ligament Aponeurosis $225.00 $300.00 $120.00–$255.00 25% Jun 12, 2026
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Injection 1 Tendon Sheath/Ligament Aponeurosis $225.00 $300.00 $120.00–$270.00 25% Jun 12, 2026
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Injection 1 Tendon Sheath/Ligament Aponeurosis $225.00 $300.00 $120.00–$270.00 25% Jun 12, 2026
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Injection 1 Tendon Sheath/Ligament Aponeurosis $225.00 $300.00 $120.00–$270.00 25% Jun 12, 2026
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Injection 1 Tendon Sheath/Ligament Aponeurosis $225.00 $300.00 $120.00–$270.00 25% Jun 12, 2026
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Injection 1 Tendon Sheath/Ligament Aponeurosis $225.00 $300.00 $120.00–$270.00 25% Jun 12, 2026
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Mercy Hospital Washington Washington, MO Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $313.30 $482.00 $31.33–$385.60 35% —
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St Josephs Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis Highland, IL · (618) 651-2600 NJX 1 TENDON SHEATH/LIGAMENT $318.96 $443.00 $88.60–$520.23 28% —
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Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MO Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $534.95 $823.00 $301.61–$691.76 35% —
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Mercy Hospital Jefferson Festus, MO Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $614.90 $946.00 $61.49–$946.00 35% —
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Mercy Hospital South Saint Louis, MO · (314) 525-1000 Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $676.65 $1,041.00 $67.67–$1,041.00 35% —
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Gateway Regional Medical Center Granite City, IL · (618) 798-3000 NJ TENDON SHEATH/LIG $677.28 $1,128.80 $1,128.80 40% —
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Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MO · (636) 528-8551 Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $696.15 $1,071.00 $69.62–$1,071.00 35% —
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St Elizabeths Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis O'Fallon, IL HC INJ SINGLE TENDON/LIGAMENT $1,054.08 $1,464.00 $213.37–$1,464.00 28% —
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Shriners Childrens - St Louis Saint Louis, MO · (314) 432-3600 INJ TENDON SHEATH/LIGAMENT $1,282.23 $1,282.23 $33.81–$501.82 — —
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Mercy Hospital Jefferson both sides Festus, MO Bilat Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $784.55 $1,207.00 $78.46–$1,207.00 35% —
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Mercy Hospital South both sides Saint Louis, MO · (314) 525-1000 Bilat Inj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo $863.20 $1,328.00 $3,153.00–$6,631.00 35% —
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Outpatient: lowest $147.55, median $271.98, highest $1,282.23 — a 8.7× difference within the same market.

Both sides : lowest $784.55, median $823.88, highest $863.20 — a 1.1× difference within the same market.

The two groups are not comparable and are not averaged together: a price for both sides of the body covers twice the work. Merging them is how a single published "median" ends up far above what one side actually costs.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $271.98. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

Cash or insurance?

At 10 of 11 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 2 it is below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.

What it is

This code covers a steroid injection into a tendon sheath or ligament, such as for trigger finger, de Quervain's tenosynovitis or plantar fasciitis.

What the price covers

The price usually covers the injection. The steroid or other medicine may be billed separately.

4 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 20550 ($401.40). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.

Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MOInj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Mlp $26.00 file
Mercy Hospital Jefferson Festus, MOInj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Mlp $26.00 file
Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MOInj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Mlp $26.00 file
Mercy Hospital Jefferson Festus, MOInj Sgl Ten Sheath/Lig/Apo Pf $31.20 file