CMS Price Transparency Data

Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair

Facility: Livingston Healthcare

Billing Code: 29881 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$832

about 0.2× the $3,343 Medicare rate · typically $756–$2,271

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$868

About the fair price

about $36 over the fair price · 0.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $3,343 Fair price $832 This hospital $868 Cash price $3,129 Hospital's list price $3,294

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MT hospitals

One of the lower prices — 5 of 7 other MT hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

Cheapest $844 Priciest $6,489

Black dot = this hospital, among the 8 MT 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 $832 (about 0.2× the $3,343 Medicare rate). Livingston Healthcare charges insurers about $868, or about $3,129 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Livingston, MT.

What each insurance company pays

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

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

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Humana CignaKaiser 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	$593 - $3,129	18%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$593 - $868	18%
Aetnamajor	$3,195	96%
Humanamajor	$593	18%
PacificSource	$593 - $936	18%
+ 3 smaller / regional plans	$882 - $3,228

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (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 3,129), 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 Livingston Healthcare 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 Livingston Healthcare

Compare: Knee arthroscopy with meniscus repair at other MT hospitals

Central Montana Medical Center · Lewistown $844
Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital · Glasgow $864
Sidney Health Center · Sidney $889
St James Hospital · Butte $3,342
St. Patrick Hospital · Missoula $3,443
Great Falls Clinic Hospital · Great Falls $6,320
Intermountain Health St Vincent Regional Hospital · Billings $6,489

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