Joint injection (medium joint) cost in Ames, IA
In Ames, IA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for joint injection or drainage, medium joint (wrist, elbow, ankle): from $140.80 to $212.00, with a median of $176.40. The lowest listed price is at Story County Hospital — $35.60 less than the median here. Across Iowa, the median is $307.40 at 68 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 20605, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jul 27, 2026 and Jul 27, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Ames, IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Story County Hospital lowest Nevada, IA · (515) 382-2111 PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ INTERM JT/BURS W/O US | $140.80 | $176.00 | $107.00–$176.00 | 20% | — source file |
| Boone County Hospital Boone, IA · (515) 432-3140 Aspiration and/or injection of fluid from medium joint | $212.00 | $265.00 | $29.83–$272.95 | 20% | Jul 27, 2026 source file |
| Boone County Hospital Boone, IA · (515) 432-3140 Aspiration and/or injection of fluid from medium joint | $371.27 | $464.09 | $190.28–$770.06 | 20% | Jul 27, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $140.80, median $176.40, highest $212.00 — a 1.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $256.04. 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 2 of 2 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it 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 medium-sized joint such as the wrist, elbow or ankle.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the procedure. The medicine and imaging guidance are billed separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 20605 ($392.00). 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.
| Story County Hospital Nevada, IAHC DRAIN/INJ INTERM JNT/BURSA | $31.20 | file |