Kevin Winter/ACMA2011/Contributor/getty; manassanant pamai/getty When it comes to medical procedures like surgery, we don’t always have a clear picture of all the little details that are involved.

We may not know why certain instruments are used or the type of anesthesia required.

Even fewer details are often shared about the medical fees we’ll be responsible for, yet we’re expected to pay them. Surgery costs can vary widely between medical facilities—and some people may be paying thousands (or even tens of thousands) more than others for the same procedure.

Take Taylor Swift’s mom, 67-year-old Andrea Swift, who made headlines for recently undergoing a knee replacement surgery. What are the odds you’ll pay the same price for your knee surgery as she did? New research shows the chances are slim, but that’s not necessarily bad for your health. Here’s what you need to know about the wide discrepancy in surgery costs, plus how you can get a more accurate estimate of an impending procedure.

The cost of Andrea Swift’s knee surgery varies widely On August 13, pop music legend Taylor Swift appeared on the New Heights podcast, hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce.

During the episode, in which Taylor announced the release date for her 12th album The Life of a Showgirl, the songstress shared more about her family’s health. Taylor revealed that her dad, Scott Swift, 73, recently underwent heart surgery. “He’s doing good,” Swift said.

“He is doing incredibly well. My dad had an interesting summer. He actually had a quintuple bypass surgery, and that’s a really intense surgery.”

She also shared that her mom Andrea had knee replacement surgery. “My mom just got a new knee. She’s doing great,” Taylor said.

“This was just, like, the summer of my parental upgrades.

We’re just upgrading the parents, making sure that they live to be at least 186 years old, because they’re two of my best friends. But the popular procedure, which is typically performed to relieve arthritis pain in the knee, may vary in cost by more than a whopping $175,000 depending on your insurance provider, hospital and even the state in which you live.

A new report highlights the discrepancy in surgery costs The new Trilliant Health 2025 Health Plan Price Transparency report released this month shows how the same procedure can cost vastly different amounts, something many patients may not even realize.

The report looked at heart surgery, bowel surgery and stomach surgeries, as well as knee replacements like the one Andrea Swift had. “A knee replacement is a surgical procedure where the damaged surfaces of the knee joint are removed and replaced with artificial components, usually made of metal and plastic,” says Ashley Caravelli, DO, Medical Director, at QC Kinetix Chicagoland.

“While it can be life-changing for patients with severe, end-stage arthritis, it is still a major surgery that involves cutting bone, removing natural tissue and inserting hardware into the joint.”

“In medicine, cost does not always equal quality.” —Ashley Caravelli, DO Simply having knee pain doesn’t mean you need a knee replacement. Doctors look for specific symptoms before recommending surgery.

“Typically, a patient may be considered for knee replacement when they have severe pain that limits daily activities, significant loss of mobility and X-rays showing advanced arthritis,” says Dr. Caravelli.

“However, it’s important to note that many patients experience knee pain well before reaching that point, and there are regenerative options, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or other orthobiologic injections, that may help delay or even avoid the need for replacement in select cases.”

A knee replacement may cost $12k to $197k According to Trilliant Health, a major hip or knee replacement for a generally healthy patient (meaning they have no serious complications) costs as little as $12,727 at UPMC Hamot in Erie, PA but as much as $121,996 at Summerville Medical Center in South Carolina.

On average, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare negotiated rates differed by $9,292 for this procedure. For patients with major complications, the differences were even starker.

At St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Texas, the procedure cost $22,011. But at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, it costs a staggering $197,057, according to Trilliant Health. On average, the gap between Aetna and UHC rates for this more complex surgery was $15,580. Why the same surgery has varying prices So what explains these stark price differences? Dr. Caravelli says multiple factors could be at play.

“Geography, facility fees, insurance negotiations and even whether the surgery is performed at a large hospital system versus an ambulatory surgery center,” could all be playing a role in why a knee surgery may cost so much at one hospital and much less at another.

You might assume that a higher price means better care, but the Trilliant report found that hospitals with the highest prices did not deliver better patient outcomes or higher patient experience ratings. Dr. Caravelli says she was not surprised by this finding.

“In medicine, cost does not always equal quality,” says Dr. Caravelli.

“Outcomes often depend more on the physician’s experience, the patient’s overall health and how well they follow rehabilitation protocols. In fact, many regenerative procedures are a fraction of the cost of surgery and can deliver meaningful improvements in pain and function without hospitalization.”

How to get a clearer picture of potential fees These findings don’t mean you should avoid surgery if you truly need it. Instead, they should encourage you to ask for financial clarity from your providers so you know what to expect. “Transparency is key,” says Dr. Caravelli.

“Patients should be provided with itemized estimates up front and be encouraged to ask about alternatives, including orthobiologic therapies.”