Surgery and procedures CPT 20610 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Joint injection (cortisone shot) cost in El Centro, CA — inpatient

In El Centro, CA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for injection or fluid drainage of a major joint (knee, shoulder, hip), no ultrasound (one side of the body) as an inpatient: from $117.25 to $117.25, with a median of $117.25. Across California, the median is $951.60 at 178 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 20610, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 1, 2026 and Feb 1, 2026.

Lowest$117.25Pioneers Memorial Hospital

Median$117.25half of hospitals charge less

Highest$117.25in this market

Difference1.0×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 El Centro, CA.

median

Lowest $117.25Highest $1,190.00

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Pioneers Memorial Hospital one side lowest Brawley, CA · (760) 351-3333 XR Hip Injection/Asp Right File of Feb 1, 2026 · source file	$117.25	$469.00	$65.68–$786.71	75%
Pioneers Memorial Hospital one side Brawley, CA · (760) 351-3333 XR Hip Injection/Asp Left File of Feb 1, 2026 · source file	$164.15	$469.00	$65.68–$786.71	65%
Pioneers Memorial Hospital one side Brawley, CA · (760) 351-3333 IR Joint/Bursa Intmd Arthr/Asp/Inj Left+2 more lines at this price File of Feb 1, 2026 · source file	$1,190.00	$4,760.00	$65.68–$4,760.00	75%

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

One side of the body : lowest $117.25, median $117.25, highest $117.25.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $107.00 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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 procedure uses a needle to inject medicine into, or draw fluid out of, a large joint such as the knee, shoulder or hip, or a large bursa. It is commonly used for arthritis or bursitis pain, or to test joint fluid.

What the price covers

The price covers the injection or drainage procedure for one joint. The drug itself, such as a steroid or gel injection, and any lab test of the fluid are billed separately.