# Large joint injection or fluid drainage in GA

Billing code `20610`. Prices for this code at 108 hospitals in GA, taken from the machine-readable standard charge files each hospital is required to publish under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR 180.50).

Source page: https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/large-joint-injection-or-fluid-drainage

HC ARTHROCENTESIS ASPIR&/INJ MAJOR JT/BURSA W/O US

**Where this is done matters more than which hospital:** Large joint injection or fluid drainage is a procedure a doctor's office can perform, and Medicare pays about 5.1x more for it at a hospital outpatient department than in an office. Every price below is a hospital's, and excludes the doctor's separate bill. Do not quote these as the cost of the procedure without saying which setting they describe.

## Before quoting any figure below

- **Hospital charges only.** The surgeon, anaesthetist, radiologist and pathologist bill separately and appear in no hospital price file, by construction. Every figure below is part of a total, never the total.
- **A negotiated rate is not a bill.** It is what a hospital and an insurer agreed. What a patient owes depends on their deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum.
- **Each hospital's figure is a median across its own plans.** The spread inside one hospital is often wider than the gap between two of them.
- **"not mentioned" is not $0.** It means this hospital's file does not label a row that way. Silence is not a statement that the charge does not exist.
- **A hospital absent from the table says nothing about its prices.** It may publish this code under a revenue or drug code this site cannot map to a procedure.

A procedure code is billed twice -- once by the hospital for its own costs, once by the doctor for their work -- and hospitals publish different sides of that split under the same code. Of the hospitals here, 41 publish a facility charge; 11 publish both, mixed together; 56 do not label which half the figure is.

## Typical price

|  | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cheapest tenth | $198 |
| Typical | $611 |
| Dearest tenth | $2,572 |

The cheapest and dearest tenth are the hospitals a tenth of the way in from each end, not the single cheapest and dearest. Every hospital, including both extremes, is in the table below.

That is a 13-fold difference for the same billing code -- a gap between hospitals, not between treatments.

## Every hospital publishing this code

| Hospital | Where | CMS rating | Typical | Facility charge | Physician fee | Self-pay | Lowest | Highest | Plans on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Hospital | LOUISVILLE | not rated | $32 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $29 | $21 | $45 | 80 |
| St Mary's Hospital | ATHENS | 1/5 | see split | $913 | $33 | $2,067 | $3 | $9,990 | 4,131 |
| Liberty Regional Medical Center | HINESVILLE | not rated | $52 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $232 | $50 | $216 | 6 |
| Bacon County Hospital | ALMA | not rated | see split | $281 | $63 | $580 | $43 | $393 | 18 |
| Jeff Davis Hospital | HAZLEHURST | not rated | $66 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $80 | $20 | $176 | 38 |
| Effingham Health System | SPRINGFIELD | not rated | $70 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $162 | $67 | $238 | 52 |
| Jasper Memorial Hospital | MONTICELLO | not rated | $85 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $118 | $54 | $322 | 57 |
| Candler County Hospital | METTER | not rated | $122 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $41 | $2,723 | 48 |
| Burke Medical Center | WAYNESBORO | not rated | $135 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $0 | $0 | $269 | 10 |
| Coffee Regional Medical Center | DOUGLAS | 3/5 | see split | $3,809 | $68 | $277 | $63 | $9,760 | 260 |
| Dorminy Medical Center | FITZGERALD | not rated | $173 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $108 | $137 | $2,627 | 52 |
| Elbert Memorial Hospital | ELBERTON | not rated | $209 | $209 | not mentioned | $186 | $209 | $209 | 1 |
| Putnam General Hospital | EATONTON | not rated | $213 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $222 | $64 | $378 | 39 |
| Emanuel Medical Center | SWAINSBORO | 4/5 | $214 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $320 | $36 | $1,632 | 34 |
| Taylor Regional Hospital | HAWKINSVILLE | not rated | see split | $219 | $144 | $1,177 | $104 | $470 | 41 |
| Navicent Health Baldwin | MILLEDGEVILLE | 2/5 | see split | $288 | $48 | $320 | $43 | $5,479 | 83 |
| Donalsonville Hospital | DONALSONVILLE | not rated | $227 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $263 | $130 | $263 | 23 |
| Union General Hospital | BLAIRSVILLE | 3/5 | $229 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $160 | $49 | $294 | 16 |
| Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center | CEDARTOWN | not rated | $258 | $258 | not mentioned | $344 | $93 | $2,016 | 36 |
| Monroe County Hospital | FORSYTH | not rated | $267 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $103 | $77 | $515 | 25 |
| Dodge County Hospital | EASTMAN | not rated | $268 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $35 | $2,260 | 24 |
| Washington County Regional Medical Center | SANDERSVILLE | not rated | $269 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $750 | $73 | $1,245 | 75 |
| Southwell Medical, a Campus of TRMC | ADEL | not rated | see split | $274 | $102 | $392 | $37 | $14,417 | 850 |
| Optim Medical Center - Screven | SYLVANIA | not rated | $274 | $274 | not mentioned | $8,250 | $269 | $605 | 66 |
| SGMC Health Lanier | LAKELAND | not rated | $274 | $274 | not mentioned | $743 | $269 | $403 | 3 |
| Tift Regional Medical Center | TIFTON | 3/5 | see split | $278 | $90 | $358 | $51 | $11,238 | 534 |
| Phoebe Sumter Medical Center | AMERICUS | 3/5 | $282 | $282 | not mentioned | not published | $269 | $471 | 7 |
| Stephens County Hospital | TOCCOA | 2/5 | $287 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $379 | $139 | $568 | 30 |
| SGMC Health | VALDOSTA | 2/5 | $294 | $294 | not mentioned | $743 | $213 | $348 | 8 |
| Atrium Health Navicent the Medical Center | MACON | 2/5 | see split | $411 | $96 | $316 | $43 | $5,756 | 123 |
| Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital | ALBANY | 2/5 | $310 | $310 | not mentioned | not published | $296 | $517 | 7 |
| Atrium Health Navicent Peach | BYRON | 1/5 | see split | $510 | $52 | $384 | $49 | $2,120 | 56 |
| Southern Regional Medical Center | RIVERDALE | 1/5 | $316 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $306 | $129 | $2,297 | 82 |
| Tanner Medical Center - Carrollton | CARROLLTON | 2/5 | $316 | $316 | not mentioned | $478 | $306 | $337 | 20 |
| SGMC Berrien Campus | NASHVILLE | not rated | $321 | $321 | not mentioned | $743 | $268 | $402 | 6 |
| AdventHealth Murray | CHATSWORTH | 5/5 | $362 | $362 | not mentioned | $2,366 | $286 | $1,727 | 6 |
| Chatuge Regional Hospital | HIAWASSEE | not rated | $404 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $578 | $170 | $983 | 70 |
| Appling Healthcare | BAXLEY | not rated | $444 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $459 | $287 | $579 | 10 |
| Memorial Hospital and Manor | BAINBRIDGE | 1/5 | $448 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $498 | $158 | $881 | 264 |
| Crisp Regional Hospital | CORDELE | 2/5 | see split | $450 | $450 | $467 | $373 | $487 | 15 |
| AdventHealth Gordon | CALHOUN | 3/5 | $468 | $468 | not mentioned | $2,366 | $306 | $1,727 | 9 |
| Grady Memorial Hospital | ATLANTA | 2/5 | see split | $1,611 | $95 | $5,054 | $35 | $4,275 | 110 |
| Chi Memorial Hospital- Georgia | RINGGOLD | 3/5 | $479 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $393 | $167 | $2,204 | 90 |
| WellStar MCG Health, Affiliated with Med Col | AUGUSTA | 1/5 | $498 | $498 | not mentioned | $905 | $269 | $3,391 | 21 |
| Southeast Georgia Health System -- Camden Campus | SAINT MARYS | 4/5 | $503 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $63 | $1,009 | 221 |
| Southeast Georgia Health System- Brunswick Campus | BRUNSWICK | 2/5 | $503 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $63 | $1,009 | 221 |
| Evans Memorial Hospital | CLAXTON | not rated | $526 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $125 | $2,263 | 52 |
| East Georgia Regional Medical Center | STATESBORO | 3/5 | $527 | $527 | not mentioned | $1,651 | $60 | $7,987 | 41 |
| WellStar West Georgia Medical Center | LAGRANGE | 5/5 | $575 | $575 | not mentioned | $905 | $302 | $3,391 | 14 |
| Emory Houston Hospital Warner Robins | WARNER ROBINS | 2/5 | $583 | $583 | not mentioned | $1,092 | $275 | $4,840 | 13 |
| WellStar Spalding Medical Center | GRIFFIN | 2/5 | $587 | $587 | not mentioned | $905 | $308 | $3,391 | 14 |
| Morgan Medical Center | MADISON | not rated | $598 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $598 | $598 | 3 |
| WellStar Douglas Medical Center | DOUGLASVILLE | 3/5 | $606 | $606 | not mentioned | $905 | $309 | $3,391 | 13 |
| Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center | ROME | 2/5 | $607 | $607 | not mentioned | $798 | $240 | $8,343 | 76 |
| WellStar North Fulton Medical Center | ROSWELL | 2/5 | $611 | $611 | not mentioned | $905 | $312 | $3,391 | 13 |
| WellStar Cobb Medical Center | AUSTELL | 3/5 | $611 | $611 | not mentioned | $905 | $312 | $3,391 | 13 |
| WellStar Paulding Medical Center | HIRAM | 4/5 | $611 | $611 | not mentioned | $905 | $312 | $3,391 | 13 |
| WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center | MARIETTA | 4/5 | $611 | $611 | not mentioned | $905 | $312 | $3,391 | 13 |
| Mountain Lakes Medical Center | CLAYTON | not rated | $615 | $615 | not mentioned | $330 | $571 | $750 | 10 |
| Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica | VILLA RICA | 3/5 | $623 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $623 | $226 | $966 | 17 |
| Colquitt Regional Medical Center | MOULTRIE | 4/5 | $816 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $816 | $66 | $816 | 44 |
| Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite | ATLANTA | not rated | $821 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,785 | $404 | $1,785 | 84 |
| Athur M Blank Hospital | ATLANTA | not rated | $821 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,785 | $413 | $1,785 | 84 |
| St Francis Hospital- Emory Healthcare | COLUMBUS | 3/5 | $1,005 | $1,005 | not mentioned | not published | $57 | $2,643 | 16 |
| Candler Hospital | SAVANNAH | 2/5 | $1,066 | $1,066 | not mentioned | $426 | $269 | $2,321 | 20 |
| St Joseph's Hospital - Savannah | SAVANNAH | 2/5 | $1,066 | $1,066 | not mentioned | $426 | $269 | $2,321 | 20 |
| University Mcduffie County Regional Medical Center | THOMSON | not rated | $1,095 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $883 | $427 | $2,650 | 34 |
| St Marys Good Samaritan Hospital | GREENSBORO | 4/5 | $1,117 | $1,117 | not mentioned | $1,025 | $35 | $1,419 | 107 |
| Piedmont Augusta Hospital | AUGUSTA | 2/5 | $1,296 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $883 | $355 | $2,944 | 46 |
| AdventHealth Redmond | ROME | 4/5 | $1,322 | $1,322 | not mentioned | $2,569 | $319 | $3,185 | 13 |
| Emory Hillandale Hospital | LITHONIA | 1/5 | $1,580 | $1,580 | not mentioned | $4,862 | $308 | $4,840 | 17 |
| Hamilton Medical Center | DALTON | 3/5 | $1,708 | $1,708 | not mentioned | $1,616 | $1,626 | $2,288 | 3 |
| Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown | COLUMBUS | 2/5 | $1,915 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $883 | $383 | $2,944 | 40 |
| WellStar Sylvan Grove Medical Center | JACKSON | not rated | $1,940 | $1,940 | not mentioned | $905 | $836 | $3,391 | 6 |
| Piedmont Columbus Regional Northside | COLUMBUS | 5/5 | $1,980 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $883 | $308 | $2,944 | 38 |
| Optim Medical Center - Tattnall | REIDSVILLE | not rated | $2,041 | $2,041 | not mentioned | $6,067 | $866 | $2,041 | 11 |
| Memorial Health Meadows Hospital | VIDALIA | 5/5 | $2,108 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,091 | $341 | $16,800 | 142 |
| Northside Hospital Gwinnett | LAWRENCEVILLE | 3/5 | $2,300 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $523 | $74 | $50,000 | 250 |
| Northside Hospital Duluth | DULUTH | 4/5 | $2,300 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $523 | $74 | $50,000 | 250 |
| Piedmont Eastside Medical Center | SNELLVILLE | 2/5 | $2,354 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $670 | $3,785 | 36 |
| Northside Hospital Forsyth | CUMMING | 4/5 | $2,369 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $523 | $84 | $50,000 | 239 |
| Northside Hospital | ATLANTA | 3/5 | $2,369 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $523 | $85 | $50,000 | 241 |
| Northside Hospital Cherokee | CANTON | 4/5 | $2,369 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $523 | $78 | $50,000 | 243 |
| Memorial Health University Medical Center | SAVANNAH | 1/5 | $2,374 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $364 | $7,512 | 209 |
| Coliseum Medical Centers | MACON | 3/5 | $2,380 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $235 | $3,437 | 34 |
| Piedmont Macon North Hospital | MACON | 4/5 | $2,380 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $316 | $3,498 | 34 |
| Piedmont Walton Hospital | MONROE | 4/5 | $2,425 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $324 | $3,819 | 30 |
| Piedmont Mountainside Hospital | JASPER | 4/5 | $2,425 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $373 | $3,819 | 30 |
| Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center | CARTERSVILLE | 3/5 | $2,444 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $405 | $3,819 | 38 |
| Piedmont Newton Hospital | COVINGTON | 3/5 | $2,451 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $353 | $3,498 | 34 |
| Piedmont Newnan Hospital | NEWNAN | 4/5 | $2,451 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $324 | $3,819 | 36 |
| Piedmont Henry Hospital | STOCKBRIDGE | 2/5 | $2,475 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $291 | $3,819 | 36 |
| Piedmont Hospital | ATLANTA | 4/5 | $2,475 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $374 | $3,819 | 36 |
| Piedmont Fayette Hospital | FAYETTEVILLE | 3/5 | $2,475 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $332 | $3,819 | 36 |
| Piedmont Rockdale Hospital | CONYERS | 3/5 | $2,497 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $414 | $3,819 | 36 |
| Emory University Hospital Midtown | ATLANTA | 2/5 | $2,572 | $2,572 | not mentioned | $4,862 | $312 | $4,840 | 19 |
| Emory Johns Creek Hospital | JOHNS CREEK | 4/5 | $2,572 | $2,572 | not mentioned | $4,862 | $312 | $4,840 | 19 |
| Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta | ATLANTA | 3/5 | $2,572 | $2,572 | not mentioned | $4,862 | $312 | $4,840 | 19 |
| Emory University Hospital | ATLANTA | 4/5 | $2,572 | $2,572 | not mentioned | $4,862 | $308 | $4,840 | 19 |
| Emory Decatur Hospital | DECATUR | 2/5 | $2,572 | $2,572 | not mentioned | $4,862 | $308 | $4,840 | 19 |
| Doctors Hospital | AUGUSTA | 3/5 | $2,595 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $364 | $7,512 | 195 |
| Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center | ATHENS | 4/5 | $2,711 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,146 | $366 | $3,819 | 38 |
| Fairview Park Hospital | DUBLIN | 4/5 | $3,633 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $742 | $7,512 | 227 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham | DEMOREST | 3/5 | $3,642 | $3,642 | not mentioned | $956 | $269 | $10,045 | 10 |
| Memorial Satilla Health | WAYCROSS | 3/5 | $4,289 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $742 | $7,512 | 166 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin | DAHLONEGA | 5/5 | $5,494 | $5,494 | not mentioned | $956 | $318 | $10,045 | 9 |
| NGMC Barrow | WINDER | 4/5 | $5,494 | $5,494 | not mentioned | $956 | $308 | $10,045 | 9 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center | GAINESVILLE | 3/5 | $5,494 | $5,494 | not mentioned | $956 | $302 | $10,045 | 9 |

## Self-pay

Self-pay is what the hospital charges someone paying themselves rather than through insurance. Paying self-pay usually does not count toward a deductible, so it can cost less for one service and more across a year. Every other figure here is what an insurer pays, not what a patient would.

At 41 of the 95 hospitals here that publish a self-pay price it is LOWER than what that same hospital typically accepts from an insurer; at the other 54 it is higher.

## The doctor's side, roughly

Nationally, Medicare allows about $44 for the clinician who performs or reads this service, across 5,806 billing providers in 2024. That is a separate bill from everything above and is NOT added to any figure on this page -- it is here to show the rough size of what a hospital price leaves out.

7 of these 108 hospitals have not published an updated price file in over a year, or do not say when they last did. Hospitals are required to update at least annually, so those figures may not reflect what they charge now: Jefferson Hospital, Jeff Davis Hospital, Donalsonville Hospital, Monroe County Hospital, Southeast Georgia Health System -- Camden Campus, Southeast Georgia Health System- Brunswick Campus, Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica.

## Others in orthopedics

- [MRI, knee, without contrast](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/mri-knee-without-contrast) -- 108 hospitals, typically $640
- [Shoulder joint dye injection for imaging](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/shoulder-joint-dye-injection-for-imaging) -- 83 hospitals, typically $1,021
- [Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/knee-arthroscopy-with-meniscus-repair) -- 63 hospitals, typically $4,531
- [Shoulder bone shaving (keyhole surgery)](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/shoulder-bone-shaving-keyhole-surgery) -- 58 hospitals, typically $3,442

---

Every procedure with a published price in GA: https://clearcharge.org/price/ga
Prices that look wrong: info@clearcharge.org

Compiled by Clearcharge (clearcharge.org) from each hospital's machine-readable standard-charge file. When quoting a figure, cite the source page above. The hospital files behind these figures state data through dates from 2024-07-01 to 2026-07-28; per-hospital staleness is flagged above.