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Knee Cartilage Repair With Your Own Bone Plugs

Louisiana rates for HCPCS 29866

A knee arthroscopy procedure that repairs a damaged patch of joint cartilage by transplanting small plugs of healthy bone and cartilage taken from a less weight-bearing area of the patient's own knee. The plugs are harvested and inserted through small camera-guided incisions in the same operation, filling the damaged area with living tissue rather than scar tissue. It is used for a focal area of cartilage damage rather than widespread arthritis.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Knee Cartilage Repair With Your Own Bone Plugs cost?

$1,660

Typical negotiated rate. In Louisiana, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,660 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $1,380 from a physician practice, and about $4,571 from a hospital or other facility.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$1,380$1,175 to $1,698
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$4,571$3,090 to $8,511

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,571 · 10th to 90th $1,318 to $12,303Professionalmedian $1,380 · 10th to 90th $1,000 to $1,820
$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $4,571professional $1,380

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$758.58
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$4,365.16
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,318.26
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$1,862.09
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,073.80
Median
$5,754.40
Typical High
$12,882.50
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$1,698.24
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$1,621.81
Typical High
$5,888.44
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$1,380.38
Typical High
$1,819.70
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$12,589.25
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$933.25
Median
$1,122.02
Typical High
$1,905.46
4 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$977.24
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,288.25
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$263.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$131.83
Median
$134.90
Typical High
$173.78
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$912.01
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$1,202.26

Where Louisiana sits

The same service costs 7.6 times more in Alaska than in Texas. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

Louisiana· 18th of 51

$1,660

AK $4,266TX $562

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.