Cost analysis for CPT 20550 — Injection into tendon or ligament
Average Medicare Payment
$38.15
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$23.8M
Services (2023)
621.8K
Price Change (2014–2023)
-5.2%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $40.26 | $24.8M | 628.6K | — |
| 2015 | $40.86 | $25.8M | 644.4K | +1.5% |
| 2016 | $39.77 | $26.0M | 665.7K | -2.7% |
| 2017 | $35.15 | $22.8M | 660.2K | -11.6% |
| 2018 | $35.52 | $23.2M | 663.7K | +1.1% |
| 2019 | $36.01 | $24.0M | 670.9K | +1.4% |
| 2020 | $36.83 | $21.1M | 577.9K | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $38.36 | $24.1M | 631.7K | +4.2% |
| 2022 | $38.30 | $23.3M | 610.4K | -0.2% |
| 2023 | $38.15 | $23.8M | 621.8K | -0.4% |
The most expensive state pays 1.8x more than the cheapest for this procedure. NY averages $47.19 vs VT at $26.46.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY | $47.19 | $2.1M | 44.9K | 592 |
| NJ | $45.60 | $1.5M | 31.8K | 419 |
| AK | $44.36 | $25.2K | 569 | 15 |
| CT | $41.74 | $281.0K | 6.7K | 123 |
| MD | $41.27 | $675.1K | 16.4K | 262 |
| CA | $40.52 | $2.7M | 65.4K | 793 |
| DC | $39.49 | $50.5K | 1.3K | 17 |
| IL | $39.10 | $774.7K | 19.8K | 351 |
| PA | $39.08 | $1.2M | 30.0K | 559 |
| PR | $38.91 | $16.1K | 413 | 16 |
| GU | $38.76 | $4.9K | 127 | 2 |
| CO | $38.75 | $257.2K | 6.6K | 153 |
| FL | $38.42 | $3.0M | 78.8K | 970 |
| DE | $38.37 | $126.1K | 3.3K | 47 |
| MA | $38.37 | $665.5K | 17.3K | 270 |
| WA | $37.97 | $393.4K | 10.4K | 202 |
| NV | $37.91 | $183.5K | 4.8K | 76 |
| TX | $37.89 | $1.3M | 35.0K | 681 |
| HI | $37.81 | $58.5K | 1.5K | 20 |
| VA | $37.78 | $775.7K | 20.5K | 352 |
| MI | $37.21 | $443.2K | 11.9K | 246 |
| OR | $37.21 | $160.2K | 4.3K | 97 |
| RI | $36.64 | $83.3K | 2.3K | 47 |
| SC | $36.51 | $498.3K | 13.6K | 227 |
| OK | $36.42 | $174.8K | 4.8K | 106 |
| NM | $36.42 | $114.7K | 3.1K | 60 |
| GA | $36.33 | $644.8K | 17.7K | 335 |
| NH | $35.90 | $103.0K | 2.9K | 60 |
| KY | $35.49 | $196.3K | 5.5K | 126 |
| NC | $35.23 | $690.0K | 19.6K | 365 |
| WY | $35.21 | $30.3K | 862 | 19 |
| UT | $35.15 | $124.1K | 3.5K | 91 |
| AL | $35.11 | $245.4K | 7.0K | 136 |
| MT | $34.78 | $72.4K | 2.1K | 44 |
| IN | $34.75 | $325.6K | 9.4K | 208 |
| MS | $34.73 | $192.8K | 5.6K | 115 |
| AR | $34.68 | $151.5K | 4.4K | 89 |
| TN | $34.45 | $409.9K | 11.9K | 254 |
| OH | $34.11 | $593.9K | 17.4K | 367 |
| KS | $33.77 | $159.7K | 4.7K | 92 |
| ME | $33.39 | $33.2K | 993 | 32 |
| IA | $33.31 | $170.7K | 5.1K | 108 |
| MN | $32.84 | $176.3K | 5.4K | 131 |
| MO | $32.80 | $403.8K | 12.3K | 196 |
| WI | $32.72 | $175.9K | 5.4K | 146 |
| AZ | $32.70 | $723.3K | 22.1K | 268 |
| LA | $32.03 | $351.6K | 11.0K | 156 |
| NE | $31.82 | $99.1K | 3.1K | 64 |
| WV | $31.40 | $68.1K | 2.2K | 50 |
| ID | $31.00 | $69.6K | 2.2K | 53 |
| SD | $28.93 | $51.3K | 1.8K | 41 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rufat Agayev | Podiatry | NY | $290.3K | 5.2K | $55.49 |
| Jaewoo Pak | Internal Medicine | CA | $155.3K | 3.9K | $40.03 |
| Craig Campbell | Podiatry | NY | $108.0K | 2.0K | $54.29 |
| Jimmy Seese | Podiatry | NJ | $107.8K | 2.1K | $50.65 |
| Isabella Lai | Internal Medicine | CA | $105.6K | 3.8K | $27.70 |
| Brett Hutton | Rheumatology | FL | $101.0K | 3.3K | $30.80 |
| Narinder Gupta | Anesthesiology | LA | $83.1K | 3.7K | $22.20 |
| Marc Hirsh | Rheumatology | FL | $65.0K | 1.7K | $39.27 |
| Edward Hui | Internal Medicine | CA | $52.8K | 1.1K | $48.76 |
| Charles Birbara | Rheumatology | MA | $48.6K | 1.7K | $28.75 |
| Brandon Luskin | Hand Surgery | FL | $47.6K | 1.2K | $38.23 |
| Jiyong Jeon | Podiatry | NY | $47.1K | 924 | $50.96 |
| Cynthia Harding | Orthopedic Surgery | FL | $43.7K | 1.3K | $32.67 |
| Ashraf Hanna | Pain Management | FL | $39.3K | 868 | $45.27 |
| David Kim | Pain Management | NJ | $38.1K | 1.3K | $29.68 |
| Parker Gennett | Podiatry | NY | $37.5K | 783 | $47.85 |
| Simon Becker | Podiatry | NJ | $36.3K | 1.1K | $33.38 |
| George White | Orthopedic Surgery | FL | $35.7K | 1.3K | $28.43 |
| Salvatore Zummo | Physician Assistant | AZ | $33.9K | 1.2K | $28.31 |
| Katie Hu | Family Practice | CA | $33.6K | 699 | $48.01 |
Based on the data, CPT 20550 shows a 1.8x variation in pricing across states — moderate variation by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 5.2% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.