Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO), of Golden Valley, Minnesota, which OTW reported in 2012 was providing one-bill knee replacements, is now offering the same program for hip, shoulder and ankle procedures. The program bills patients once for all aspects of the procedure, from medications to the surgery to physical therapy during recovery. Patients recover in suites resembling spas, managed and professionally staffed by Twin Cities Orthopedics instead of in hospitals.
Only one Twin Cities insurance company, Medica, is currently covering the cost for the one-bill joint replacement procedures. Twin Cities Orthopedics has performed approximately 50 of the one-bill knee replacement surgeries since inaugurating the system two years ago. CEO Troy Simonson says that a hip replacement procedure at TCO, under the one-bill system, costs about $24, 000 and a knee joint replacement is $21, 000.
