Shoulder arthroscopy with decompression in San Diego, CA costs $4,035 to $4,313. Here's every hospital's price.
5 hospitals in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area publish a cash price for shoulder arthroscopy with decompression (CPT 29826). We read their files every month so you don't have to.
Across the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, 5 hospitals list a cash price for shoulder arthroscopy with decompression (CPT 29826). The lowest is $4,035 at Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego, the median is $4,313 and the highest is $4,313 at Scripps Memorial Hospital - Encinitas.
The San Diego, CA median of $4,313 is 51% above the national median of $2,859 across 435 US hospitals with a cash price for this code.
5 of these hospitals also publish the rates they negotiated with insurers, from $148 to $13,802. 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 March 2026 and May 2026. 10 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 onlySan Diego · 24 mi · File Apr 2026
San Diego · 29 mi · File Mar 2026
La Jolla · 28 mi · File Mar 2026
La Jolla · 28 mi · File Mar 2026
Encinitas · 30 mi · File Mar 2026
What's in the price
The hospital facility fee for CPT 29826. 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 29826, in writing, and whether it covers facility, physician and anesthesia."
About shoulder arthroscopy with decompression
CPT 29826 is a keyhole shoulder operation in which the surgeon shaves bone and tissue under the acromion to relieve impingement. It is nearly always done together with other shoulder work, such as a rotator cuff repair (29827), and is technically an add-on code, so a hospital's price for 29826 alone rarely reflects the whole operation.
What the price covers
The hospital's facility fee for the operating room, arthroscopy equipment, nursing, supplies and recovery, for this component. The surgeon, anesthesia provider and any implants used in a combined repair bill separately. Expect the total for a shoulder arthroscopy visit to be considerably more than this single code.
Why prices vary
Orthopedic surgery has some of the widest price spreads in hospital files. Ambulatory surgery centers, often physician-owned, are usually much cheaper than hospital outpatient departments for the same arthroscopy. Within hospitals, large systems list the highest charges.
Questions to ask
- Which codes will be billed for my operation, and what is the self-pay price for all of them together?
- What do the surgeon and anesthesia charge?
- Could the same surgeon do it at an ambulatory surgery center?
Hospitals in San Diego, CA without a price for this procedure
Listed so you know who to call. The reason is what we found on their website.
- Grossmont Hospitalcode not in file
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San MarcosNo website on record
- Palomar Health Downtown CampusWebsite blocks automated reading
- Palomar Medical Center PowayWebsite blocks automated reading
- Paradise Valley Hospitalcode not in file
- Rady Children's Hospital - San DiegoFile in an unsupported format
- Sharp Chula Vista Medical Centercode not in file
- Sharp Coronado Hospital and Hlthcr Ctrcode not in file
- Sharp Memorial Hospitalcode not in file
- UC San Diego Health Hillcrest - Hillcrest Med CtrNo price file found