Surgery and procedures CPT 20610 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Joint injection (cortisone shot) cost in St. Johnsbury, VT — inpatient

In St. Johnsbury, VT, 1 hospital lists a cash price for injection or fluid drainage of a major joint (knee, shoulder, hip), no ultrasound as an inpatient: from $70.50 to $70.50, with a median of $70.50. Across Vermont, the median is $123.90 at 7 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 20610, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$70.50Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital
Median$70.50half pay less
Highest$70.50in 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 St. Johnsbury, VT.

median
Lowest $70.50Highest $518.25

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital lowest St. Johnsbury, VT · (802) 748-7400 DRAIN/INKECT, JOINT/BURSA ~P $70.50 $94.00 $33.84–$94.00 25% —
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Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital St. Johnsbury, VT · (802) 748-7400 DI INJECTION PROC MAJOR JOINT $77.25 $103.00 $37.08–$103.00 25% —
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Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital St. Johnsbury, VT · (802) 748-7400 DRAIN/INJECT JNT W/OUS ~20610 $85.50 $114.00 $41.34–$114.00 25% —
source file
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital St. Johnsbury, VT · (802) 748-7400 DRAIN/INJECT, JOINT W/O US $93.75 $125.00 $45.32–$118.75 25% —
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Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital St. Johnsbury, VT · (802) 748-7400 ARTHRO MAJOR JOINT 20610~P $168.75 $225.00 $42.47–$225.00 25% —
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Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital St. Johnsbury, VT · (802) 748-7400 INJ BURSA/TENDON MAJOR W/O US $518.25 $691.00 $64.94–$656.45 25% —
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Inpatient: lowest $70.50, median $70.50, highest $70.50.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $70.50 — 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.

1 row held back from this comparison

It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 20610 ($464.10). 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.

Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital St. Johnsbury, VTDRAIN/INJECT, JOINT/BURS ~T $23.25 file