# Hip or knee replacement (hospital stay): what Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield pays, by state

The whole hospital stay for a hip or knee joint replacement, without major complications - the most common inpatient surgery.

- Insurer: Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Billing code: 470 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: unknown
- All of the insurer's plans pooled; the map also shows single networks

| State | Providers | Lowest | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Highest | Medicare pays | Median vs Medicare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 24 | $11,102.03 | $16,747.13 | $18,378.56 | $24,706.72 | $106,434.60 | $12,966.17 | 1.4x Medicare |
| Missouri | 2 | $14,300.92 | $14,489.09 | $14,677.26 | $14,865.43 | $15,053.60 | $14,460.34 | about what Medicare pays |
| Oklahoma | 2 | $6,855.03 | $6,881.85 | $6,908.66 | $6,935.48 | $6,962.29 | $14,253.40 | 0.5x Medicare |
| Tennessee | 2 | $22,956.74 | $22,956.74 | $22,956.74 | $22,956.74 | $22,956.74 | $14,538.56 | 1.6x Medicare |
| Texas | 1 | $18,506.52 | $18,506.52 | $18,506.52 | $18,506.52 | $18,506.52 | $14,713.96 | 1.3x Medicare |

**“x Medicare”** compares each price with what original Medicare actually paid hospitals in the same state for the same kind of stay in 2024, the newest year it has published: the average per stay, the patient’s share included, at hospitals with more than ten such stays. Medicare’s payment varies by hospital (wages, teaching, low-income patients), so this is a state average, not any one hospital’s rate. Insurers write their contracts as a share of Medicare, so 1.3x means the insurer pays 30% more than Medicare would; Medicare Advantage plans generally pay close to 1.0x.

Prices are what the insurer has agreed to pay, not what you will be billed. This is a statewide summary: prices vary far more between towns and between practices than these medians suggest, and "providers" counts everyone with a contracted price, not only those who perform the procedure.

Map: https://medicalpricetransparency.netlify.app/insurers/arkbcbs/statemap_470_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)