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Knee Cartilage Repair With Your Own Bone Plugs

Nebraska 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?

$2,399

Typical negotiated rate. In Nebraska, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,399 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $2,344 from a physician practice, and about $5,623 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$2,344$1,778 to $2,754
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$5,623$3,631 to $8,511

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $5,623 · 10th to 90th $2,291 to $11,482Professionalmedian $2,344 · 10th to 90th $1,259 to $5,754
$1K$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $5,623professional $2,344

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
$4,365.16
Median
$7,244.36
Typical High
$17,378.01
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$1,621.81
BCBS Nebraska
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7,943.28
Median
$10,715.19
Typical High
$21,379.62
BCBS Nebraska
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5,011.87
Median
$5,370.32
Typical High
$5,754.40
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,073.80
Median
$5,128.61
Typical High
$6,456.54
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,905.46
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$2,511.89
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,548.82
Median
$3,715.35
Typical High
$19,952.62
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,258.93
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$7,762.47
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,905.46
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$3,162.28
Midlands
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,981.07
Median
$5,248.07
Typical High
$6,760.83
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$3,235.94
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,698.24
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$8,912.51
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,258.93
Median
$2,089.30
Typical High
$2,884.03
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
$724.44
Median
$724.44
Typical High
$1,230.27
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$144.54
Median
$144.54
Typical High
$245.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$95.50
Median
$95.50
Typical High
$162.18
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$676.08
Median
$676.08
Typical High
$1,148.15

Where Nebraska 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.

Nebraska· 4th of 51

$2,399

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.