CMS Price Transparency Data

Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair

Facility: Merit Health Natchez

Billing Code: 29881 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$3,461

about 1.0× the $3,343 Medicare rate · typically $3,111–$4,191

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$3,139

About the fair price

about $322 under the fair price · 0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $3,343 Fair price $3,461 This hospital $3,139 Cash price $9,472 Hospital's list price $52,621

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MS hospitals

Highest price of the 9 MS hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $535 Priciest $3,139

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 MS hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

⚠ The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.

A fair price for a Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair is about $3,461 (about 1.0× the $3,343 Medicare rate). Merit Health Natchez charges insurers about $3,139, or about $9,472 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Natchez, MS.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

5 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana Kaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$2,473 - $8,025	74%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$1,756	53%
Aetnamajor	$3,154 - $29,678	94%
Cignamajor	$1,300	39%
Humanamajor	$8,025	240%
CareSource	$2,522	75%
Devoted Health	$3,124	93%
Molina	$2,670 - $4,638	80%
WellCare	$3,174	95%
+ 18 smaller / regional plans	$1,688 - $36,835

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid, Military & VA.

Excludes 3 rental-network / third-party entries (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price (about 9,472), before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the CPT code on your bill matches exactly: 29881.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Merit Health Natchez is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 29881.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at Merit Health Natchez

Compare: Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair at other MS hospitals

Highland Hills Medical Center · Senatobia $535
North Sunflower Medical Center Cah · Ruleville $541
Monroe Regional Hospital · Aberdeen $899
S E Lackey Memorial Hospital · Forest $1,014
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Oktibbeha County · Starkville $1,825
Merit Health Wesley · Hattiesburg $2,917
Memorial Hospital Biloxi · Biloxi $2,919
Singing River Gulfport · Gulfport $2,919

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.