Joint injection (small joint) cost in Portland, ME
In Portland-South Portland, ME, 5 hospitals list a cash price for joint injection or drainage, small joint (fingers, toes): from $55.20 to $659.35, with a median of $83.10. The lowest listed price is at York Hospital — $27.90 less than the median here. Across Maine, the median is $116.55 at 19 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 4 cities for code 20600, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Sep 9, 2025 and Sep 9, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Portland-South Portland, ME.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York Hospital lowest York, ME · (207) 351-2478 DR Aspiration sm.joint finger/toe | $55.20 | $92.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Biddeford, ME PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ SMALL JT/BURSA W/O US | $63.25 | $63.25 | $33.85–$104.08 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 ASP/INJ SMAL JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUID | $73.80 | $123.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ SMALL JT/BURSA W/O US - AMBULATORY RATE | $83.10 | $83.10 | $33.85–$104.08 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ SMALL JT/BURSA W/O US | $200.95 | $200.95 | $33.85–$104.08 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME HC DRAIN/INJ JNT/BURSA W/O US | $200.98 | $773.00 | $412.78–$589.03 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME HC DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA WO US | $200.98 | $773.00 | $412.78–$589.03 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME INJ/ASPIRATE SMALL JNT | $200.98 | $773.00 | $412.78–$589.03 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME HC SMALL JOINT/GANGLION INJ | $200.98 | $773.00 | $412.78–$589.03 | 74% | — source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 ASP SMALL JNT FINGER/TOE W/O US GUID | $211.20 | $352.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 Aspiration sm.joint finger/toe-20600 | $211.20 | $352.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME RH DRAIN/INJECT JT/BURSA SM | $232.44 | $894.00 | $477.40–$681.23 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME RH DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA WO US | $232.44 | $894.00 | $477.40–$681.23 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME ARTHROCENTESIS/INJ-SM JT | $241.28 | $928.00 | $495.55–$707.14 | 74% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 HC DRAIN/INJ SM JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUIDANCE - AMBULATORY RATE | $274.45 | $274.45 | $201.89–$1,297.68 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA W/O US SMALL JOINT | $512.40 | $854.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 HC DRAIN/INJ SM JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUIDANCE | $546.50 | $546.50 | $285.70–$1,297.68 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Brunswick, ME · (207) 729-0181 HC DRAIN/INJ SM JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUIDANCE | $659.35 | $659.35 | $288.28–$1,031.06 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Biddeford, ME HC DRAIN/INJ SM JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUIDANCE | $731.30 | $731.30 | $285.70–$1,297.68 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $55.20, median $83.10, highest $659.35 — a 11.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $83.10. 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 4 of 4 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 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 injecting or draining a small joint, such as a finger or toe joint.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the injection. The steroid or other medicine may be billed separately.
6 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 20600 ($376.80). 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 Portland, MEPF DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA WO US | $31.46 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, MEPF DRAIN/INJECT JT/BURSA SM | $31.46 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, MEPF DRAIN/INJ JNT/BURSA W/O US | $31.46 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, MEPF SMALL JOINT/GANGLION INJ | $31.46 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, MEDRAIN/INJECT SM JNT/BURSA | $31.46 | file |
| York Hospital York, MEDRAIN/INJECT JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUID | $36.60 | file |