Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair in Chicago, IL-IN costs $549 to $33,293. Here's every hospital's price.
8 hospitals in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area publish a cash price for knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair (CPT 29881). We read their files every month so you don't have to.
Across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, 8 hospitals list a cash price for knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair (CPT 29881). The lowest is $549 at Humboldt Park Health, the median is $7,164 and the highest is $33,293 at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital. The most expensive hospital lists 61 times the cheapest for the same code.
The Chicago, IL-IN median of $7,164 is 71% above the national median of $4,187 across 170 US hospitals with a cash price for this code.
27 of these hospitals also publish the rates they negotiated with insurers, from $237 to $61,251. With insurance you pay a share of the negotiated rate, which is sometimes higher than the cash price; you may ask for the cash price instead.
The files behind these prices are dated between November 2025 and August 2026. 53 other hospitals in the metro area have no readable price for this code: some publish no file, some block automated reading, some leave the code out. They are listed below so you can call them.
Sorted by cash price
Hospital facility fee onlyChicago · 12 mi · File Apr 2026
Morris · 40 mi · File Jun 2026
Valparaiso · 43 mi · File Apr 2026
Mchenry · 45 mi · File Apr 2026
Geneva · 27 mi · File Apr 2026
Dekalb · 47 mi · File Apr 2026
Melrose Park · 10 mi · File Mar 2026
What's in the price
The hospital facility fee for CPT 29881. The doctor, anesthesia and lab work usually bill separately.
Cash vs. insured
Cash is what you pay without insurance. With insurance you pay a share of the negotiated rate, which can be higher than cash. You may ask for the cash price.
What to say on the phone
"I'd like the self-pay price for CPT 29881, in writing, and whether it covers facility, physician and anesthesia."
About knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair
CPT 29881 is a keyhole knee operation to trim a torn meniscus, the cartilage cushion in the knee. It is one of the most common orthopedic procedures, done as an outpatient in 30 to 60 minutes under general or spinal anesthesia, with a few weeks of recovery.
What the price covers
The hospital's price is the facility fee: operating room, arthroscopy equipment, nursing, supplies and recovery. The surgeon and the anesthesia provider bill separately. Post-operative physical therapy and a knee brace are separate.
Is it needed?
For degenerative meniscus tears in middle age, trials have found physical therapy works as well as arthroscopy for many patients. If the tear is degenerative rather than from an injury, it is reasonable to ask whether a course of therapy first would be sensible.
Why prices vary
The same operation is priced several times higher at some hospitals than others in the same area, and ambulatory surgery centers, which do not publish these files, are often the cheapest option. Ownership and system size drive hospital prices more than anything else.
Questions to ask
- What is the self-pay price for 29881, and what do surgeon and anesthesia add?
- Are additional codes likely (chondroplasty, a second compartment), and what do they cost?
- Could it be done at an ambulatory surgery center?
Hospitals in Chicago, IL-IN without a price for this procedure
Listed so you know who to call. The reason is what we found on their website.
- Alexian Brothers Medical Center 1File found, not read yet
- Amita Health Resurrection Medical CenterFile found, not read yet
- Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicagocode not in file
- Community First Medical Centercode not in file
- Community HospitalNo price file found
- Copley Memorial HospitalFile found, not read yet
- Franciscan Health Crown PointFile could not be read
- Franciscan Health DyerFile could not be read
- Franciscan Health MunsterFile could not be read
- Franciscan Health Olympia & Chicago HeightsFile could not be read
- Franciscan Health Rensselaer, INCFile could not be read
- Holy Cross HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- Insight Hospital and Medical Center ChicagoWebsite blocks automated reading
- John H Stroger Jr HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- Larabida Childrens Hospital Icode not in file
- Loretto HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- Louis A Weiss Memorial HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- Mercy Harvard HospitalNo website on record
- Mercyhealth Hospital & Physician Clinic-Crystal LaNo website on record
- Methodist Hospital of Chicagocode not in file
- Methodist Hospitals INCcode not in file
- Midwestern Region Med Center, INCNo price file found
- Mt Sinai Hospital Medical CenterWebsite blocks automated reading
- Northshore University Healthsystem - Evanston Hospitalcode not in file
- Northwest Community Hospital 1code not in file
- Northwestern Lake Forest HospitalFile found, not read yet
- Northwestern Medicine Central Dupage HospitalFile could not be read
- Northwestern Memorial HospitalFile could not be read
- Palos Community HospitalFile found, not read yet
- Presence Mercy Medical CenterFile found, not read yet
- Presence Saint Joseph Hospital - Chicagocode not in file
- Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical CenterNo website on record
- Provident Hospital of ChicagoWebsite blocks automated reading
- Roseland Community HospitalNo price file found
- Rush Oak Park HospitalFile found, not read yet
- Rush University Medical CenterFile found, not read yet
- Saint Anthony HospitalFile found, not read yet
- Saint Francis Hospital-EvanstonFile found, not read yet
- Saint Joseph Hospital-ElginFile found, not read yet
- Saint Joseph Medical CenterFile found, not read yet
- Shriners Hospital for ChildrenFile found, not read yet
- Silver Cross Hospital and Medical CentersWebsite blocks automated reading
- South Shore HospitalNo price file found
- St Alexius Medical Centercode not in file
- St Bernard HospitalWebsite blocks automated reading
- St Catherine Hospital INCNo price file found
- St Mary Medical Center INCNo price file found
- Swedish HospitalNo price file found
- Thorek Memorial Hospitalcode not in file
- Uchicago Medicine Northwest IndianaNo website on record
- Valley West Community HospitalNo website on record
- Vista Medical Center EastWebsite blocks automated reading
- West Suburban Medical CenterWebsite blocks automated reading