Joint injection (medium joint) cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 14 hospitals list a cash price for joint injection or drainage, medium joint (wrist, elbow, ankle): from $275.94 to $2,466.00, with a median of $580.50. The lowest listed price is at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital — $304.56 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $346.50 at 53 hospitals.
- The median here, $580.50, is 53% above the US median of $379.80.
- That is 1.9× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($313.60).
- 3 of 14 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 14 facilities across 11 cities for code 20605, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 11, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.
Lowest$275.94Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital
Median$580.50half of hospitals charge less
Highest$2,466.00in this market
Difference8.9×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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
median
Lowest $275.94Highest $2,466.00
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 Arthcs Asp/Inj Int Jt WO US+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $275.94 | $1,022.00 | $89.73–$755.00 | 73% |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB ARTHO/ASP/INJ/INTERMEDIATE JOINT OR BURSA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $318.50 | $637.00 | — | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $251.01–$1,044.90 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $146.63–$1,102.95 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Nov 4, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $137.81–$1,102.95 | 50% |
| Atrium Health University City Charlotte, NC · (704) 548-6000 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $113.31–$1,126.17 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $126.20–$1,102.95 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $251.01–$1,068.12 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $164.75–$1,102.95 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC SP ARTHRO ASPIR/INJ INTERM J File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $580.50 | $1,161.00 | $114.13–$1,068.12 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Nov 4, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $140.42–$1,123.85 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC HC ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT W/O US+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $148.33–$1,088.36 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $128.59–$1,123.85 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $167.87–$1,123.85 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $116.29–$1,088.36 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $149.41–$1,123.85 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+3 more lines at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $148.33–$1,064.70 | 50% |
| Atrium Health University City Charlotte, NC · (704) 548-6000 HC ER ARTHROCENTESIS INTERMED JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $591.50 | $1,183.00 | $115.46–$1,147.51 | 50% |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ASC ARTHROCENTESIS INTERM JOINT File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $805.00 | $805.00 | $121.15–$2,325.00 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ASC ARTHROCENTESIS INTERM JOINT File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $805.00 | $805.00 | $121.15–$2,325.00 | — |
| CaroMont Regional Medical Center - Gastonia Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ASC ARTHROCENTESIS INTERM JOINT File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $805.00 | $805.00 | $121.15–$2,325.00 | — |
| CaroMont Regional Medical Center - Gastonia Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ARTHROCENT ASP INTERMED JT+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $1,487.00 | $1,487.00 | $223.79–$1,412.65 | — |
| CaroMont Regional Medical Center - Gastonia one side Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ARTHROCENT MED JNT LT+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $1,487.00 | $1,487.00 | $223.79–$2,325.00 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ARTHROCENT ASP INTERMED JT+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $1,487.00 | $1,487.00 | $223.79–$1,412.65 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ARTHROCENT ASP INTERMED JT+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $1,487.00 | $1,487.00 | $223.79–$1,412.65 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Mount Holly, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ARTHROCENT MED JNT LT+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $1,487.00 | $1,487.00 | $223.79–$2,325.00 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Belmont, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG ARTHROCENT MED JNT RT+1 more line at this price File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $1,487.00 | $1,487.00 | $223.79–$2,325.00 | — |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB ARTHO/ASP/INJ/INTERMEDIATE JOINT OR BURSA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,466.00 | $4,932.00 | — | 50% |
Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.
Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More
List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More
Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More
Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.
At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More
Outpatient: lowest $275.94, median $580.50, highest $2,466.00 — a 8.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $580.50. 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 12 of 12 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 joint injection (medium joint) is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Joint injection (medium joint) explained.