With Original Medicare, a hip replacement typically costs you between $1,676 and $2,500 or more out of pocket, depending on whether the surgery is inpatient or outpatient and what supplemental coverage you carry. Medicare covers the bulk of the expense, but your share includes deductibles, coinsurance, and costs for rehabilitation and equipment afterward.
Inpatient Hip Replacement Costs
Most hip replacements still happen as inpatient procedures, which means Medicare Part A covers the hospital stay. In 2025, you pay a $1,676 deductible per benefit period. After that, Part A covers days 1 through 60 with no additional daily cost to you. If your hospital stay extends beyond 60 days (rare for hip replacement, since most patients are discharged within one to three days), you’d pay $434 per day for days 61 through 90.
The $1,676 deductible is often the single largest expense you’ll face. It covers the hospital room, nursing care, meals, medications administered during your stay, and use of the operating room. Surgeon fees and anesthesia are billed separately under Part B, which pays 80% of the Medicare-approved amount. You’re responsible for the remaining 20% of those professional fees.
Outpatient Surgery Costs Less
Hip replacements are increasingly performed as outpatient procedures, meaning you go home the same day or within 24 hours. When this happens, the surgery falls under Part B rather than Part A. You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the facility fee, surgeon fee, and anesthesia combined, after meeting the annual Part B deductible ($257 in 2025).
Where you have the surgery matters. Research comparing ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) to hospital outpatient departments found that hip procedures at ASCs cost Medicare patients roughly $716 on average, compared to $1,333 at hospital outpatient departments. That’s 30% to 46% less in out-of-pocket costs for the same procedure. The difference comes almost entirely from lower facility fees at surgical centers. If your surgeon offers the option of an ASC and you’re a good candidate for same-day discharge, it’s worth considering for the savings alone.
Rehabilitation and Recovery Costs
Physical therapy after hip replacement is essential, and most people need sessions two to three times per week for six to twelve weeks. Medicare Part B covers outpatient physical therapy at 80% of the approved amount, leaving you with 20% coinsurance per visit. Your therapist or doctor must certify medical necessity, but hip replacement recovery easily meets that standard.
If you need inpatient rehabilitation at a skilled nursing facility or rehab center, Part A covers it as long as you had a qualifying hospital stay. The first 20 days are fully covered. Days 21 through 100 carry a daily coinsurance (which is $209 per day in 2025). Most hip replacement patients who go to inpatient rehab stay fewer than 20 days, so many avoid this coinsurance entirely.
You’ll also need a walker or cane during recovery. Medicare Part B covers durable medical equipment at 80% of the approved amount after your Part B deductible. A standard walker through a Medicare-participating supplier typically costs you only a few dollars in coinsurance. Make sure your supplier accepts Medicare assignment, or you could be charged more upfront.
How Medigap Plans Reduce Your Costs
Supplemental insurance (Medigap) can eliminate most or all of your out-of-pocket costs. The most popular plans work like this:
- Plan G: Covers 100% of the Part A deductible, 100% of Part A coinsurance, 100% of Part B coinsurance, and 100% of skilled nursing facility coinsurance. You pay only the annual Part B deductible ($257 in 2025), then the plan picks up everything else. Your total hip replacement cost could be as low as $257.
- Plan F: Covers everything Plan G covers plus the Part B deductible. Available only to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Your hip replacement cost could be $0.
- Plan N: Covers 100% of Part B coinsurance (with small copays for some office visits) and 100% of Part A coinsurance, but does not cover the Part A deductible or skilled nursing facility coinsurance. You’d still owe the $1,676 Part A deductible for an inpatient procedure.
- Plan K: Covers 50% of the Part A deductible and 50% of Part B coinsurance, with an annual out-of-pocket cap. Less comprehensive but lower monthly premiums.
If you have Medigap Plan G, a hip replacement is one of the clearest examples of the plan paying for itself. Without it, you could face $1,676 or more in deductibles and coinsurance. With it, the plan absorbs nearly everything.
Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans handle costs differently from Original Medicare. Instead of the 20% coinsurance structure, most Advantage plans charge a flat copay or a set coinsurance rate for inpatient stays and surgical procedures. The specific amount varies widely by plan, but all Medicare Advantage plans are required to cap your annual out-of-pocket spending, which Original Medicare does not do.
That cap typically ranges from $3,000 to $8,300 depending on the plan. If you’ve already had significant medical expenses earlier in the year, a hip replacement might push you to your plan’s maximum, after which you pay nothing more for covered services that calendar year. Check your plan’s Evidence of Coverage document for the exact copay or coinsurance for inpatient surgery, since these vary too much between plans to quote a single number.
A Realistic Cost Breakdown
Here’s what a typical inpatient hip replacement looks like under different coverage scenarios, assuming a straightforward two-day hospital stay and six weeks of outpatient physical therapy:
- Original Medicare alone: $1,676 Part A deductible, plus 20% of surgeon and anesthesia fees under Part B, plus 20% of physical therapy visits. Total estimate: $2,000 to $3,500.
- Original Medicare with Medigap Plan G: $257 Part B deductible only. Total estimate: $257.
- Original Medicare with Medigap Plan N: $1,676 Part A deductible, plus small copays for some follow-up visits. Total estimate: $1,700 to $1,900.
- Outpatient surgery at an ASC, no supplemental insurance: 20% of facility and professional fees. Total estimate: $700 to $1,400.
These figures don’t include your monthly Part B premium ($185 per month in 2025 for most people) or Medigap premiums, which vary by state, age, and plan type. They also don’t account for prescription pain medications after surgery, which fall under Part D.