Inguinal Hernia Repair: what it covers and what it costs
What does an Inguinal Hernia Repair cost? Across 34 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for a Hernia Repair (CPT 49505 / 49650) runs from about $955 in Raleigh, NC to $24,219 in Virginia Beach, VA, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 7 of those metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price. This page explains what the billing code covers, what the quoted price does and does not include, and what actually drives the spread between hospitals. These are price references from public data — not a quote, a bill, or medical or financial advice.
These figures are aggregated from hospitals' public price-transparency files — not a quote, a bill, an insurance benefit determination, or medical advice. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your insurance plan (deductible, copay, coinsurance, network), the exact service and any complications, and which hospital you use. Always confirm price and coverage with the hospital and your insurer before care.
What a Hernia Repair price actually covers
An inguinal hernia repair closes a weakness in the lower abdominal wall through which tissue protrudes, usually reinforcing it with surgical mesh. Most repairs are elective, same-day outpatient operations.
Code scope. 49505 = open repair of an initial, reducible inguinal hernia, age 5+; 49650 = laparoscopic initial inguinal repair (both included since patients shop them together). NOTE: the 2023 CPT hernia overhaul created new 49591-series codes for VENTRAL/incisional/umbilical hernias only - inguinal/femoral codes were retained, not replaced.
What is — and isn't — in the price
The facility fee covers the operating room and recovery; the surgeon and anaesthesia provider bill separately. Mesh is generally treated as a supply inside the facility charge rather than an itemised patient charge.
Why Hernia Repair prices differ so much between hospitals
Open and laparoscopic or robotic approaches are separate codes, and robotic assistance generally prices highest. Whether the hernia is initial or recurrent, and unilateral or bilateral, changes the code as well — a bilateral repair is not simply twice a unilateral one.
What else usually lands on the bill
A pre-operative ultrasound or CT, where used to confirm the hernia, is billed separately. Bilateral repairs and recurrent hernias carry their own codes, and a femoral or umbilical hernia repair is a different procedure again.
What to ask before you book
Ask which surgical approach the price assumes, and whether the figure is for a one-sided or two-sided repair. Confirm whether the operation is scheduled at a hospital or an ambulatory surgery centre.
Where the money actually moves
Elective and highly shoppable. Ambulatory surgery centres price well below hospital departments, and asking which approach is planned matters — robotic assistance is the most expensive route to the same repair.
What the Hernia Repair numbers show nationally
A Hernia Repair costs 25.3× as much in Virginia Beach as in Raleigh
Across the 34 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $955 in Raleigh, NC to $24,219 in Virginia Beach, VA — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 2435% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Hernia Repair prices
Lowest: HARPER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (Detroit, MI) at $11; JOHNSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (Hartford, CT) at $132; MERCY CATHOLIC MEDICAL CENTER- MERCY FITZGERALD (Philadelphia, PA) at $171. Highest: CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER (Los Angeles, CA) at $25,517; SENTARA WILLIAMSBURG REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (Virginia Beach, VA) at $24,219; SENTARA PRINCESS ANNE HOSPITAL (Virginia Beach, VA) at $24,219. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
7 of 34 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay Hernia Repair price
Cheapest published cash price: $6,211 (Dallas). A cash price is what the hospital will accept from someone paying directly; it is not required and many never publish one.
Insurers pay about 64% below the list price for a Hernia Repair
Across the 8 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 64% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Cincinnati: $42,142 list against $5,891 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish a Hernia Repair price
208 hospital price-file entries across 34 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 49505 / 49650 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Hernia Repair price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Hernia Repair, by metro — lowest first. 7 of these 34 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 9 publish a chargemaster list price. Open a metro for its full hospital-by-hospital breakdown and who those hospitals are.
| Metro | Typical negotiated | Range | Cash | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | $955 | $955–$3,437 | — | 3 |
| Detroit, MI | $1,287 | $11–$4,774 | — | 6 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $1,692 | $1,111–$2,274 | — | 4 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $3,470 | $2,988–$5,797 | — | 10 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $3,701 | $3,252–$4,687 | — | 3 |
| Nashville, TN | $4,013 | $2,163–$4,013 | — | 9 |
| Birmingham, AL | $4,391 | $4,391–$4,648 | — | 3 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $4,637 | $1,656–$11,787 | — | 9 |
| Houston, TX | $4,690 | $4,690–$4,832 | — | 6 |
| Atlanta, GA | $4,817 | $235–$6,389 | — | 7 |
| Riverside, CA | $5,235 | $304–$5,689 | — | 4 |
| Tampa, FL | $5,277 | $4,074–$5,328 | — | 6 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $5,416 | $171–$9,391 | — | 12 |
| New York, NY | $5,434 | $4,958–$7,029 | $6,892 | 7 |
| San Jose, CA | $5,665 | $1,597–$5,944 | — | 3 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $5,891 | $4,690–$5,994 | $25,285 | 5 |
| Sacramento, CA | $5,944 | $5,111–$5,944 | $22,397 | 4 |
| San Francisco, CA | $5,944 | $5,560–$5,944 | $22,397 | 7 |
| St. Louis, MO | $6,064 | $4,969–$7,630 | $10,765 | 7 |
| Cleveland, OH | $6,072 | $362–$7,445 | $10,552 | 9 |
| Austin, TX | $6,090 | $2,859–$10,200 | — | 9 |
| San Diego, CA | $6,190 | $2,773–$10,046 | — | 3 |
| Kansas City, MO | $6,351 | $6,351–$8,726 | — | 6 |
| Denver, CO | $7,080 | $464–$9,337 | — | 10 |
| Dallas, TX | $7,168 | $983–$13,821 | $6,211 | 10 |
| Washington, DC | $7,268 | $4,926–$7,268 | — | 5 |
| Hartford, CT | $7,327 | $132–$7,680 | — | 4 |
| Buffalo, NY | $7,497 | $596–$7,510 | — | 3 |
| Seattle, WA | $8,786 | $1,577–$10,311 | — | 8 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $10,549 | $5,689–$25,517 | — | 5 |
| Portland, OR | $10,564 | $5,638–$13,561 | — | 8 |
| Miami, FL | $13,543 | $8,253–$22,976 | — | 4 |
| Chicago, IL | $14,176 | $14,176 | — | 3 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $24,219 | $6,448–$24,219 | — | 6 |
Source: hospitals' own machine-readable Standard Charges files, published under the U.S. Hospital Price Transparency rule (45 CFR §180.50). Most recent hospital file in this dataset: July 2026. Prices are references, not quotes or bills, and never medical or financial advice — where a hospital reports no price, nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Hernia Repair cost?
- Across 34 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $5,944, ranging from $955 in Raleigh to $24,219 in Virginia Beach. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 49505 / 49650.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- The facility fee covers the operating room and recovery; the surgeon and anaesthesia provider bill separately. Mesh is generally treated as a supply inside the facility charge rather than an itemised patient charge.
- Why do Hernia Repair prices differ so much between hospitals?
- Open and laparoscopic or robotic approaches are separate codes, and robotic assistance generally prices highest. Whether the hernia is initial or recurrent, and unilateral or bilateral, changes the code as well — a bilateral repair is not simply twice a unilateral one.