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Knee Cartilage Repair With Your Own Bone Plugs

Tennessee 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?

$1,950

Typical negotiated rate. In Tennessee, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,950 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $1,413 from a physician practice, and about $4,074 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$1,413$1,122 to $2,512
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$4,074$2,344 to $7,079

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,074 · 10th to 90th $1,259 to $8,710Professionalmedian $1,413 · 10th to 90th $955 to $8,511
$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $4,074professional $1,413

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
$1,819.70
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$7,244.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$912.01
Median
$1,071.52
Typical High
$1,621.81
BCBS Tennessee
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,318.26
Median
$3,467.37
Typical High
$8,317.64
BCBS Tennessee
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$1,548.82
Typical High
$2,511.89
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$7,943.28
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$1,819.70
Lucent Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7,762.47
Median
$7,762.47
Typical High
$8,511.38
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$6,025.60
Typical High
$10,232.93
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$870.96
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$2,187.76
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
$691.83
Median
$741.31
Typical High
$1,000.00
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$138.04
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$199.53
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$91.20
Median
$97.72
Typical High
$134.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$645.65
Median
$691.83
Typical High
$933.25

Where Tennessee 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.

Tennessee· 11th of 51

$1,950

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.