Joint injection (cortisone shot) cost in Duluth, MN
In Duluth, MN-WI, 12 hospitals list a cash price for injection or fluid drainage of a major joint (knee, shoulder, hip), no ultrasound: from $87.60 to $496.32, with a median of $336.14. The lowest listed price is at Community Memorial Hospital — $248.54 less than the median here. Across Minnesota, the median is $362.85 at 85 hospitals.
- The median here, $336.14, is 24% below the US median of $439.76.
- That is 1.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($313.60).
- Duluth, MN has the lowest median of 2 metro areas in Minnesota with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 9 cities for code 20610, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Sep 1, 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 Duluth, MN-WI.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Memorial Hospital lowest Cloquet, MN · (218) 879-4641 MDA-DRAIN/INJ MAJ JNT/BUR W/FC+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $87.60 | $136.88 | $45.62–$182.50 | 36% |
| Community Memorial Hospital Cloquet, MN · (218) 879-4641 MDA-DRAIN/INJ MAJOR JNT/BURSA+5 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $116.80 | $182.50 | $45.62–$182.50 | 36% |
| Essentia Health Virginia Virginia, MN · (218) 741-3340 DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $276.95 | $441.00 | $101.43–$398.66 | 37% |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center Duluth, MN · (218) 786-3574 DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $291.06 | $441.00 | $145.97–$379.26 | 34% |
| Essentia Health Duluth Duluth, MN · (218) 786-2652 DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $291.06 | $441.00 | $145.97–$379.26 | 34% |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Children's Hospital Duluth, MN DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $291.06 | $441.00 | $145.97–$379.26 | 34% |
| Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital Ely, MN · (218) 365-3271 Aspiration and/or injection of fluid from large joint File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $309.42 | $382.00 | $130.61–$382.00 | 19% |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 CT Guided Aspir &/or Inj Major Jt File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $362.85 | $667.00 | — | 46% |
| Essentia Health Northern Pines Aurora, MN · (218) 229-4222 DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $363.59 | $492.00 | $188.88–$492.00 | 26% |
| Essentia Health St Marys Hospital-Superior Superior, WI · (715) 817-7000 DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $363.59 | $492.00 | $157.44–$445.26 | 26% |
| Essentia Health Moose Lake Moose Lake, MN · (218) 786-1367 DRAIN/INJ LARGE JOINT/BURSA(T) File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $363.59 | $492.00 | $195.82–$445.26 | 26% |
| Range Regional Health Services Hibbing, MN · (218) 362-6730 HC DRAIN/INJ MAJOR JOINT/BURSA W/O US File of Jan 29, 2026 · source file | $376.66 | $886.25 | $133.72–$895.29 | 57% |
| The Cook Hospital one side Cook, MN · (218) 666-5945 XR injection shoulder LT,Left Side of body+3 more lines at this price File of Aug 10, 2026 · source file | $496.32 | $752.00 | — | 34% |
| The Cook Hospital Cook, MN · (218) 666-5945 INJECTION, MAJOR JOINT+1 more line at this price File of Aug 10, 2026 · source file | $496.32 | $752.00 | $286.00 | 34% |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital both sides Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 CT Guided Aspir &/or Inj Major Jt|BILATERAL PROCEDURE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $544.27 | $1,000.50 | — | 46% |
Outpatient: lowest $87.60, median $336.14, highest $496.32 — a 5.7× difference within the same market.
Both sides : lowest $544.27, median $544.27, highest $544.27.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $291.06. 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 10 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 joint injection (cortisone shot) is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Joint injection (cortisone shot) explained.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 20610 ($442.50). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Community Memorial Hospital Cloquet, MNFP-SC,DRAIN/INJ MAJOR JOINT/BU | $29.20 | file |
| Community Memorial Hospital Cloquet, MNORT-SC, DRAIN/INJ MAJOR JNT | $29.20 | file |
| Community Memorial Hospital Cloquet, MNPN-DRAIN/INJ MAJOR JNT BURSA | $29.20 | file |