Joint aspiration or injection (small joint) cost in Birmingham, AL

Prices at 5 hospitals in Birmingham, AL, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $506 — 32% above the US median ($383), roughly 9.0× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
The Children's Hospital of Alabama Birmingham, AL $506 $977 — — —

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated October 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,177
Cash / self-pay
$506
Insurer-negotiated
$477
Medicare pays
$56
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $506 — about 9.0× the Medicare rate ($56). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($112).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,177 list price could save about $671 (57%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

Doctors who perform this in Birmingham

Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.

ClinicianSpecialtyLocationMedicare services
Kathleen Mckeon, MDOrthopedic SurgeryBirmingham, AL162
Joseph Sherrill, M.D.Orthopedic SurgeryBirmingham, AL61
Joseph Ingram, M.D.Orthopedic SurgeryBirmingham, AL56
David Mclain, M.D.RheumatologyBirmingham, AL51
Emily Compton, MDOrthopedic SurgeryBirmingham, AL47
Scott Morris, MDOrthopedic SurgeryBirmingham, AL18

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All Joint aspiration or injection (small joint) prices in Alabama → · All Joint aspiration or injection (small joint) prices (national) · All hospitals in Birmingham