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Knee Cartilage Repair With Your Own Bone Plugs

Utah 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?

$575

Typical negotiated rate. In Utah, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $575 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $575 from a physician practice, and about $7,244 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 7 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$575$191 to $759
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$7,244$4,169 to $12,882

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $7,244 · 10th to 90th $1,479 to $15,849Professionalmedian $575 · 10th to 90th $59 to $1,023
$50$200$1K$5K$20Kfacility $7,244professional $575

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
$1,479.11
Median
$4,570.88
Typical High
$8,912.51
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$1,479.11
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,168.69
Median
$4,365.16
Typical High
$4,466.84
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,230.27
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$1,513.56
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$812.83
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$11,481.54
Median
$14,791.08
Typical High
$21,379.62
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$1,412.54
Typical High
$1,584.89
Select Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,949.84
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$1,949.84
Select Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,122.02
Median
$1,737.80
Typical High
$2,041.74
U of Utah Health Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$954.99
Median
$1,737.80
Typical High
$2,818.38
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$7,244.36
Typical High
$15,848.93
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$891.25
Median
$1,071.52
Typical High
$1,819.70
5 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
$912.01
Median
$1,096.48
Typical High
$1,096.48
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$181.97
Median
$223.87
Typical High
$223.87
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$147.91
Typical High
$147.91
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$851.14
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,023.29
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Facility
Modifier
50 · Both sides
Typical Low
$16,982.44
Median
$21,877.62
Typical High
$32,359.37

Where Utah 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.

Utah· 50th of 51

$575

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.