How much does a hip replacement cost?

Surgical replacement of a damaged hip joint with an artificial (prosthetic) hip joint.

Hospital cover

Procedure costs

Specialists & hospitals

Preparing for hospital

Planning your recovery

A hip replacement costs approximately: $24,092 - $29,208

These are approximate costs~ based on claims data by Medibank members with eligible+ hospital cover for a hospital admission at a Medibank Members' Choice Hospitals. They don’t include doctors’ fees and outpatient appointments where you aren’t admitted into hospital.

Out-of-pocket costs vary based on your cover, your specialists' fees and the hospital.

The chart below shows how costs are typically split between Medibank, Medicare and your out-of-pocket costs:

* Excess is based on your policy and varies from $0 - {{excess_max_cost}}. Some policies may have a Per-Day Payment arrangement. Medibank members can check their cover inclusions in their Cover Summary in My Medibank or call 132 331 to discuss their cover.

^ This represents the median amount for medical and hospital out-of-pocket costs. For 95% of eligible+ members out-of-pocket costs for this procedure typically did not exceed

$0.

^~ This graph was compiled using the median figure for Medibank cost, Medicare cost, Excess, and out-of-pocket costs based on data for eligible⁺ members.

⁺The above costs for a hip replacement reflect MBS item number 49315, 49321, 49318. Medibank pays benefits towards in-hospital medical services based on the MBS.

For Medibank to pay benefits towards this procedure, your hospital cover will need to include Joint Replacements as an Included or Restricted service. For Included services, we pay benefits towards the treatment, but you may still have some out-of-pocket costs. For Restricted services, we pay the minimum amount set by the government, which can mean higher out-of-pocket costs. You must also have served the relevant waiting period(s). Ask your specialist for the MBS item numbers that apply for your treatment. 

Important information

This is not a quote and should be used as a guide only. The graph above shows a median view of costs for procedures (according to Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers, Adjacent Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD)) undertaken by Medibank members with eligible hospital cover for a hospital admission at a Medibank Members’ Choice hospital, who have served the relevant waiting period claims, data received electronically (between 1/07/2023 and 30/6/2024) for Australian residents.

Typical procedure cost is based on the middle half of claims data.

Out-of-pocket costs

Whether you’ll pay any out-of-pocket costs depends on whether your treatment is Included, Restricted or Excluded under your hospital cover.

When there are out-of-pocket medical costs, they’re typically due to charges for:

principal specialist/surgeon
anaesthetist
assistants
diagnostics (e.g. lab tests, medical imaging)
other specialists
non-PBS medications

Revisit our understanding hospital cover page for more information about out-of-pocket costs.

No Gap Joint Replacement program

Eligible members with hospital cover¹ pay no out-of-pocket costs² for included treatments and services as part of hospital admission³ for elective surgery for a hip or knee replacement at participating hospitals with participating surgeons, where clinically appropriate.

Find out more

Now that you’ve covered

☑ Understanding hospital cover

☑ Out-of-pocket costs

☑ Procedure costs

Looking for something else?

Find more tools and information in the Going to Hospital hub, from planning through to recovery.

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Things you need to know

¹ Must have hospital cover that includes Joint Replacement Surgery. Waiting periods apply.

² An excess or co-payment may still be payable, depending on the product a member has chosen and whether they are claiming under their hospital cover for the first time in a calendar year. The Medibank Member Guide and Fund Rules sets out hospital benefit exclusions, which apply to all hospital admissions for Medibank members. There may be out-of-pocket expenses associated with outpatient appointments, such as your initial visit with a participating surgeon in their consulting rooms.

³ Excludes joint replacements resulting from an emergency admission.

While we hope you find this information helpful, please note that it is general in nature. It is not health advice, and is not tailored to meet your individual health needs. You should always consult a trusted health professional before making decisions about your health care. While we have prepared the information carefully, we can’t guarantee that it is accurate, complete or up-to-date. And while we may mention goods or services provided by others, we aren’t specifically endorsing them and can’t accept responsibility for them. For these reasons we are unable to accept responsibility for any loss that may be sustained from acting on this information (subject to applicable consumer guarantees).