# Hip or knee replacement (hospital stay): what Centene pays, by state

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

- Insurer: Centene (Ambetter, Health Net, Fidelis, QualChoice)
- Billing code: 470 (Hospital stays (inpatient))
- Price shown: negotiated in-network price, hospital stay, facility fee
- Prices as of: 2026-08-31
- 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 | 19 | $21,785.89 | $25,053.77 | $25,053.77 | $25,053.77 | $25,053.77 | $12,966.17 | 1.9x Medicare |
| Florida | 6 | $19,647.03 | $25,353.37 | $30,601.70 | $33,964.70 | $39,852.28 | $15,466.06 | 2.0x Medicare |
| Georgia | 1 | $27,935.18 | $27,935.18 | $27,935.18 | $27,935.18 | $27,935.18 | $16,510.65 | 1.7x Medicare |
| Mississippi | 1 | $11,735.66 | $11,735.66 | $11,735.66 | $11,735.66 | $11,735.66 | $13,518.55 | 0.9x Medicare |
| Missouri | 4 | $12,985.57 | $19,346.64 | $22,209.15 | $27,643.47 | $41,720.00 | $14,460.34 | 1.5x Medicare |
| North Carolina | 2 | $34,181.74 | $34,638.89 | $35,096.05 | $35,553.20 | $36,010.35 | $15,558.51 | 2.3x Medicare |
| Ohio | 1 | $19,903.49 | $19,903.49 | $19,903.49 | $19,903.49 | $19,903.49 | $14,131.56 | 1.4x Medicare |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | $33,355.29 | $33,355.29 | $33,355.29 | $33,355.29 | $33,355.29 | $15,447.14 | 2.2x Medicare |
| Tennessee | 1 | $26,773.68 | $26,773.68 | $26,773.68 | $26,773.68 | $26,773.68 | $14,538.56 | 1.8x Medicare |
| Texas | 3 | $26,326.51 | $30,939.71 | $35,552.92 | $52,824.45 | $70,095.98 | $14,713.96 | 2.4x 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/centene/statemap_470_US.html  
About this insurer's data, and its other procedures: [index.md](index.md)