Knee arthroscopy, cartilage smoothing cost in Philadelphia, PA
In Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2 hospitals list a cash price for knee arthroscopy with smoothing of damaged cartilage (chondroplasty): from $1,395.00 to $3,218.00, with a median of $2,306.50. The lowest listed price is at St Mary Medical Center — $911.50 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $926.69 at 16 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 29877, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 31, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary Medical Center lowest Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 PR Arthroscopy Knee Surgical Debridement/Shaving Articular Cartilage | $1,395.00 | $1,395.00 | $16.07–$1,325.25 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Lower Bucks Hospital Bristol, PA · (215) 785-9200 Knee Arthroscopy/Surgery - 29877 - OR36029877 | $3,218.00 | $8,493.00 | $932.00–$7,781.02 | 62% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| St Mary Medical Center Langhorne, PA · (215) 750-2003 PR Arthroscopy Knee Surgical Debridement/Shaving Articular Cartilage | $38,098.27 | $1,395.00 | $730.39–$21,152.31 | -2631% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,395.00, median $2,306.50, highest $3,218.00 — a 2.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $1,395.00. 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 1 of 2 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 it is
This code covers knee arthroscopy in which the surgeon smooths rough or loose cartilage.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the operating room, recovery and supplies. The surgeon and anesthesia usually bill separately.