Joint injection (medium joint) cost in Portland, ME
In Portland-South Portland, ME, 5 hospitals list a cash price for joint injection or drainage, medium joint (wrist, elbow, ankle): from $54.60 to $675.80, with a median of $100.60. The lowest listed price is at York Hospital — $46.00 less than the median here. Across Maine, the median is $124.45 at 19 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 4 cities for code 20605, 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 DRAIN INJ JOINT BURSA W/O US | $54.60 | $91.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME HC DRAIN/INJECT JT/BURSA INTER | $73.84 | $284.00 | $151.66–$216.41 | 74% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Biddeford, ME PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ INTERM JT/BURS W/O US | $100.60 | $100.60 | $34.82–$106.65 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 DR asp interm.joint/elbow/wrist/ankle | $108.00 | $180.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ INTERM JT/BURS W/O US - AMBULATORY RATE | $178.10 | $178.10 | $34.82–$106.65 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 PR ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ INTERM JT/BURS W/O US | $207.05 | $207.05 | $34.82–$106.65 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME HC INTERMEDIATE JOINT INJ | $237.38 | $913.00 | $487.54–$695.71 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME INJ/ASPIRATE MED JNT | $237.38 | $913.00 | $487.54–$695.71 | 74% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 HC DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA W/O US - AMBULATORY RATE | $274.45 | $274.45 | $201.89–$1,297.68 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME RH DRAIN/INJECT JT/BURSA INTER | $276.90 | $1,065.00 | $568.71–$811.53 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME ARTHROCENT INT JT/BURSA | $284.96 | $1,096.00 | $585.26–$835.15 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME ARTHROCEN ASP INTERM JNT/BURSA | $284.96 | $1,096.00 | $585.26–$835.15 | 74% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, ME DRAIN/INJ INTERM JNT/BURSA | $284.96 | $1,096.00 | $585.26–$835.15 | 74% | — source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 Asp interm joint/elbow/wrist/ankle-20605 | $379.80 | $633.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 ASP INTERM JNT/ELB/WR/ANK W/O US GUID | $379.80 | $633.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 IR JOINT (INTERM) INJECT PROC | $483.00 | $805.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| York Hospital York, ME · (207) 351-2478 DRAIIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA W/O US INT JOINT | $512.40 | $854.00 | — | 40% | — source file |
| MaineHealth Biddeford, ME HC DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA W/O US | $530.25 | $530.25 | $285.70–$1,297.68 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Portland, ME · (207) 662-0111 HC DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA W/O US | $580.60 | $580.60 | $285.70–$1,297.68 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
| MaineHealth Brunswick, ME · (207) 729-0181 HC DRAIN/INJ JOINT/BURSA W/O US | $675.80 | $675.80 | $288.28–$1,031.06 | — | Sep 9, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $54.60, median $100.60, highest $675.80 — a 12.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $100.60. 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 3 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 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.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 20605 ($422.54). 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.
| York Hospital York, MEASP/INJ INTER JOINT/BURSA W/O US GUID | $38.40 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, MEPF DRAIN/INJECT JT/BURSA INTER | $39.52 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Portland, MEPF INTERMEDIATE JOINT INJ | $39.52 | file |