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Knee Arthroscopy With Drilling of Cartilage Lesion

New Jersey rates for HCPCS 29886

A minimally invasive knee operation done through small incisions using a camera and narrow instruments. The surgeon drills tiny channels into the bone beneath a damaged patch of joint surface to bring in blood supply and encourage healing. It is used when the damaged piece is still sitting in place, so no screws or pins are added.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Knee Arthroscopy With Drilling of Cartilage Lesion cost?

$851

Typical negotiated rate. In New Jersey, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $851 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $676 from a physician practice, and about $7,079 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

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.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$676$617 to $1,175
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$7,079$5,888 to $10,000

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $7,079 · 10th to 90th $4,169 to $11,749Professionalmedian $676 · 10th to 90th $562 to $3,890
$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $7,079professional $676

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$4,168.69
Median
$7,079.46
Typical High
$11,748.98
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$549.54
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$6,760.83
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$616.60
Median
$870.96
Typical High
$2,041.74
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$1,047.13
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7,079.46
Median
$10,471.29
Typical High
$15,135.61
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$575.44
Median
$794.33
Typical High
$3,235.94
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3,311.31
Median
$7,079.46
Typical High
$14,454.40
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$478.63
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$1,621.81

Where New Jersey sits

The same service costs 7.4 times more in California than in Delaware. 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.

New Jersey· 33rd of 51

$851

CA $4,786DE $646

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.