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PricedCare

Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair in San Francisco, CA costs $6,914 to $7,325. Here's every hospital's price.

4 hospitals in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, 4 hospitals list a cash price for knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair (CPT 29881). The lowest is $6,914 at Washington Hospital, the median is $7,325 and the highest is $7,325 at Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch.

The San Francisco, CA median of $7,325 is 75% above the national median of $4,187 across 176 US hospitals with a cash price for this code.

5 of these hospitals also publish the rates they negotiated with insurers, from $3,921 to $13,310. 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 April 2026. 32 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.

$6,914
lowest cash price in San Francisco, CA
Washington Hospital · 22 mi
$411 below the median
$7,325
median cash price
4 hospitals
1.1×
highest ÷ lowest
same procedure, same metro
4/38
hospitals with a cash price
32 don't · see who

Sorted by cash price

Hospital facility fee only
1
Washington Hospital

Fremont · 22 mi · File Apr 2026

$6,914
list $8,864 · lowest of 7 lines
2
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco

South San Francisco · 12 mi · File Apr 2026

$7,325
list $13,080 · lowest of 2 lines
3
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont

Fremont · 22 mi · File Apr 2026

$7,325
list $13,080 · lowest of 2 lines
4
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch

Antioch · 30 mi · File Apr 2026

$7,325
list $13,080 · lowest of 6 lines
5
Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley

Pleasanton · 22 mi · File Apr 2026

—
6
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

Oakland · 4 mi · File Apr 2026

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1

What's in the price

The hospital facility fee for CPT 29881. The doctor, anesthesia and lab work usually bill separately.

2

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.

3

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 San Francisco, CA without a price for this procedure

Listed so you know who to call. The reason is what we found on their website.

Questions people ask