How Much Does a Knee Arthroscopy Cost?

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What is a knee arthroscopy?

How much does a knee arthroscopy cost?

Are there other out-of-pocket costs for a knee arthroscopy?

Are there other or ongoing costs after a knee arthroscopy?

How long will I have to wait for a knee arthroscopy?

What level of health insurance will I need for a knee arthroscopy?

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Long story short

A knee arthroscopy can diagnose and treat lots of different knee joint problems

This includes cartilage tears, ligament damage, and arthritis.

You might have out-of-pocket surgery costs, depending on whether you’re a public or private patient

Medicare covers the full cost for public patients and some of the costs for private patients.

If you have health insurance, your health fund might help pay for your knee arthroscopy

You might still have a gap to pay but you could enjoy the benefits of going private, like a shorter wait.

What is a knee arthroscopy?

A knee arthroscopy is a type of keyhole surgery. (That’s when a doctor inserts a small camera, often with attached medical devices, into your body through some small cuts.) Arthroscopies are pretty common procedures for diagnosing issues in your joints, including your knees. Then, once the surgeon has found the issue, they can often treat it in the same procedure.

If your doctor suspects you’ve torn the cartilage in your knee (the meniscus), damaged ligaments in your knee (like your ACL), or have arthritis or osteoarthritis, they might recommend you for a knee arthroscopy. It can be a handy procedure to get to the bottom of any knee pain or stability issues if non-surgical treatments like pain medications, rest, and physiotherapy haven’t done the trick.

How much does a knee arthroscopy cost?

In Australia, you have two options for your arthroscopic knee surgery: public or private. The choice you make can affect how much you end up paying for your arthroscopy.

If you opt for the public system – that means going on a public waiting list to be admitted to a public hospital as a public patient – Medicare handles all the costs. Your hospital fees, the fees for your orthopaedic surgeon and anaesthetist, the works!

Alternatively, you can choose the private system. This means you can be a private patient at a private or public hospital. As a private patient, Medicare still kindly pays 75% of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee for your procedure. If you have private health insurance, your insurer will cover the other 25% of that figure. The catch is that your surgeon’s fee might be more than the MBS fee. Anything Medicare and your health fund don’t cover is known as the gap – that’s your out-of-pocket costs.

However, a gap isn’t always guaranteed. Your health fund could have an agreement with your doctor to cover all their costs. Because of this, it can really pay off to check these kinds of things ahead of time.

Knee arthroscopy costs for private patients, 2023–24

Source: Medical Costs Finder – Knee Arthroscopy

Note: These are the amounts patients typically paid for these services, rounded to the nearest dollar. They do not include hospital payments such as excesses, co-payments, or other payments. These fees may vary depending on your situation. Not all patients had out-of-pocket costs; those who didn’t aren’t included in these figures. Data retrieved January 2026.

Even with gap costs, some people find the private system offers them more value than the public system. For instance, as a private patient, they’re able to choose their treating specialist. They might want to go with a recommendation from friends and family, a specialist they’ve seen before, or one with great reviews (and success stories). Having this control over your health care can help reassure you about your surgery and make for fewer sleepless nights.

Are there other out-of-pocket costs for a knee arthroscopy?

Some private health insurance policies include excesses and co-payments. These are additional out-of-pocket expenses you’ll need to pay as part of your hospital treatment if you make a claim on your hospital cover.

An excess is paid when you’re admitted to hospital. A co-payment is paid each day of your hospital stay. Handily, most knee arthroscopies can be completed within a day. So, if your policy lists a co-payment, you’ll probably only pay it the once for this surgery.

You can check if your hospital cover has an excess or co-payment by reading over the policy documents or speaking with the health insurance company.

Are there other or ongoing costs after a knee arthroscopy?

Along with plenty of rest and maybe a short stint on crutches, your doctor might recommend physiotherapy as part of your recovery. Strengthening exercises can help you get moving again sooner (and minimise the risk of doing further damage to your knee). Unfortunately, Medicare doesn’t cover physio fees in most instances. However, many private health insurance extras policies include cover for physiotherapy. The policy you have will determine how much it will pay towards your physio costs, so make sure you check your policy information.

After your recovery, you might not need to worry about any further costs related to your arthroscopic surgery. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that down the track you might need further knee surgery, like a joint replacement. Taking good care of your knee – like going to the physio as part of your post-operative recovery – could be a way you help minimise this risk, though.

Helpful tip

Extras cover can be handy for more than just physio. Your policy could include cover for all sorts of allied health professionals, like dentists and optometrists. If you want to be proactive about your health, and even take some preventative measures, it’s worth making the most of your extras policy – or even finding a new one that includes the services you’re after.

Andres Gutierrez

General Manager – Health

How long will I have to wait for a knee arthroscopy?

In 2023–24, the median wait for an arthroscopy as a public patient in Australia was 79 days. Private patients at public hospitals had a shorter median wait of 63 days.¹Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Admitted patient care 2023-24: What services were provided? Private patients who went to a private hospital may have had an even shorter wait.

Wait times can be a big incentive for people to go private for elective surgical procedures, like knee arthroscopies. And it’s not just about wanting to get it over and done with. A shorter wait could also help to minimise the risk of needing additional and more intensive surgery later on in life. For instance, if you leave a torn meniscus untreated, it could lead to further damage to your knee, increasing your risk of osteoarthritis and need for a knee replacement.

Of course, private patients can have to wait, too. This includes waiting for when their specialist is available, along with any waiting periods related to their policy.

If you took out your first hospital policy today (or you were upgrading cover or had been without cover for a while), you’d have to wait, at most, two months to be able to claim your knee arthroscopy on your health insurance. Unless your knee issues were a pre-existing problem. In that case (and the case for any pre-existing conditions), your maximum waiting period would be 12 months.

What level of health insurance will I need for a knee arthroscopy?

If you’re hoping your health insurance will help with the cost of your knee arthroscopy, you’ll need to make sure your hospital cover includes this kind of surgery. Conveniently, bronze, silver, and gold tier hospital policies all need to include restriction-free cover for joint reconstructions (the category knee arthroscopies fall under). The level of cover you choose could depend on which other kinds of hospital treatments you’d like included.

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Has the sound of your knees creaking convinced you it might be time to look into health insurance? iSelect can help. We make it easy to compare a range of health insurance policies, including hospital and extras, from different health funds. Call one of our friendly Australia-based health insurance comparison experts on 1800 784 772 or DIY with our online comparison tool.