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Knee Cartilage Repair With Your Own Bone Plugs

Rhode Island 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?

$1,380

Typical negotiated rate. In Rhode Island, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,380 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $1,380 from a physician practice, and about $4,467 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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$1,380$1,230 to $1,862
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$4,467$2,399 to $6,607

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,467 · 10th to 90th $1,023 to $10,471Professionalmedian $1,380 · 10th to 90th $955 to $1,862
$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $4,467professional $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
$2,398.83
Median
$3,235.94
Typical High
$3,981.07
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,380.38
Median
$1,380.38
Typical High
$1,380.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,023.29
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$204.17
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$138.04
Typical High
$138.04
BCBS Rhode Island
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$1,819.70
BCBS Rhode Island
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$616.60
Median
$741.31
Typical High
$870.96
BCBS Rhode Island
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$223.87
Typical High
$263.03
BCBS Rhode Island
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$89.13
Median
$107.15
Typical High
$125.89
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$676.08
Median
$4,786.30
Typical High
$6,918.31
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$2,137.96
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$4,570.88
Typical High
$12,882.50
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$870.96
Median
$1,174.90
Typical High
$1,949.84
1 more rate 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
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$954.99

Where Rhode Island 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.

Rhode Island· 29th of 51

$1,380

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.