ATX Orthopedics & Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin
Surgery Without the
Hospital Bill.
Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin — Central Texas’s only truly independent, physician-owned ambulatory surgery center — is a nationally recognized Center of Excellence for a broad range of elective surgical procedures. If your employer offers surgical bundling benefits, your procedure may cost you little or nothing out of pocket.
About Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin
Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin is a 100% physician-owned, AAAHC-accredited ambulatory surgery center (ASC) located in Austin, Texas — and the only truly independent ASC in Central Texas. Serving patients from Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, and the surrounding region, Pinnacle offers elective outpatient surgical care across orthopedics, general surgery, urology, ENT, bariatric, plastic surgery, and foot & ankle surgery. Procedures are performed by fellowship-trained, peer-selected surgeons committed to outcomes-based, patient-centered care.
Why Pinnacle
The Only Truly Independent ASC in Central Texas
Most ambulatory surgery centers in Austin are owned — at least in part — by a hospital system. That ownership structure affects pricing, billing, and incentives. Pinnacle Surgery Center is 100% physician-owned and operated, with no hospital affiliation and no system overhead passed on to patients or payers.
Pinnacle Surgery Center is located in central Austin near the Medical District, off 38th Street. Visit the facility directly at pscaustin.com to learn more about the facility, team, and what to expect on the day of your procedure.
That independence is precisely why leading national surgical bundling platforms — who negotiate on behalf of employers and their employees — have selected Pinnacle as their preferred Austin-area facility for orthopedic procedures including hip replacement and knee replacement.
Understanding Your Benefit
What Is a Center of Excellence?
A Center of Excellence (COE) designation is not purchased or self-declared. It is awarded by employer health benefit platforms after a rigorous independent evaluation of surgical volume, complication rates, patient outcomes, appropriateness of care, and facility safety standards. Only the top tier of providers qualify.
Outcomes-Based Selection
Platforms like Carrum Health evaluate providers on up to 55 quality metrics and contract only with the top 10% of surgeons. Selection is based on data — not marketing or market share.
Bundled Payment Model
A single all-inclusive payment covers the surgeon, facility, anesthesia, and follow-up care for an episode of surgery. No surprise bills. No facility fee ambiguity. Transparent pricing from day one.
Patient Financial Protection
Eligible employees typically owe nothing — no copay, no deductible, no coinsurance — for procedures performed at a contracted COE facility under these benefit programs.
Recognized By
Surgical Bundling Partners That Choose Pinnacle
The following national employer health benefit platforms have designated Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin as a preferred Center of Excellence. Pinnacle serves patients across a broad range of elective surgical specialties — including joint replacement, general surgery, urology, ENT, bariatric surgery, plastic surgery, and foot and ankle surgery. If your employer participates in any of these programs, you may qualify for zero or significantly reduced out-of-pocket costs for your procedure.
One of the nation’s largest surgical Centers of Excellence networks, Lantern partners with self-insured employers to provide members with access to top-tier surgeons and facilities at bundled, pre-negotiated rates. Used by many Fortune 500 employers and state health plans.
Carrum’s rigorous 55-point provider evaluation ensures only the top 10% of surgeons and facilities are admitted to the network. A RAND Corporation study found Carrum reduced costs by 45% per surgery and reduced readmissions by 80%. Covers musculoskeletal, cardiac, cancer, and more.
Transcarent connects self-insured employers and their members with high-quality, cost-transparent surgical care. Members receive dedicated care navigation support from evaluation through recovery, with no surprise billing.
Zero Health provides employers with direct-to-provider arrangements that eliminate traditional insurance intermediaries, delivering high-quality surgical care at dramatically lower cost to both employer and employee.
Frontier Health focuses on connecting employers directly with quality surgical providers, reducing administrative overhead and passing savings to employees through transparent, bundled care arrangements.
TMM’s Free Market Surgery product negotiates direct pricing between employers, self-pay patients, and high-quality facilities — making transparent, fair-priced surgical care available without traditional insurance complexity.
CHM members participating in surgical sharing arrangements may utilize Pinnacle Surgery Center as a preferred facility, benefiting from the center’s transparent, bundled pricing that aligns with health-sharing program structures.
Savvos partners with self-insured employers to deliver high-quality, cost-effective surgical care through a curated network of top-tier facilities and surgeons, with transparent bundled pricing and dedicated care navigation.
Kempton Group is an independent TPA that designs and administers self-funded health plans for employers, offering members access to high-value surgical facilities like Pinnacle through direct-contracting arrangements that reduce costs without sacrificing quality.
Avoid the 10–15% year-over-year cost increases imposed by BCBS, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, and Humana. Pinnacle Surgery Center offers direct-to-employer contracts that eliminate the insurance intermediary — delivering transparent, bundled surgical pricing with no carrier markup. If your organization is self-funded or exploring direct contracting, please inquire directly with Pinnacle Surgery Center at (512) 439-1001.
What This Means For You
Five Reasons to Choose Pinnacle for Your Procedure
Dramatically Lower Cost
Ambulatory surgery centers typically cost 40–60% less than the same procedure performed in a hospital setting. Because Pinnacle is independent — not owned by a hospital system — there are no inflated facility fees, no system overhead, and no cost-shifting from other departments. For patients covered by a COE bundling benefit, this often means zero out-of-pocket expense. Self-pay patients can also review transparent procedure pricing directly.
Peer-Selected Surgeons
Pinnacle’s physician partners are peer-selected — admitted to the facility by other physicians, not by a hospital credentialing committee driven by system priorities. Every surgeon at Pinnacle is fellowship-trained in their specialty and brings a high-volume, outcomes-focused approach to care in a patient-centered outpatient environment.
Same-Day, Outpatient Surgery
The majority of procedures at Pinnacle are performed as same-day outpatient cases. Patients go home the day of surgery to recover in their own environment — which research consistently shows leads to lower infection rates, faster functional recovery, and higher patient satisfaction compared to inpatient hospital stays.
AAAHC-Accredited Safety Standards
Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin is Medicare-certified and accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) — the gold standard for outpatient surgical facility safety and quality. The same rigorous standards apply whether your surgery costs $0 or $50,000.
Transparent, Predictable Pricing
Unlike hospital systems where the final bill can depend on dozens of variables, Pinnacle’s bundled pricing structure means you — and your employer — know the cost upfront. No surprise bills, no unbundled anesthesia charges, no facility fee shock. This is exactly why the most rigorous employer health platforms have chosen Pinnacle as their Austin COE.
Check Your Eligibility
Many patients are surprised to learn their employer’s health plan includes a surgical bundling benefit that covers procedures at Pinnacle at little or no out-of-pocket cost. Here’s how to find out if you qualify.
Review Your Benefits
Log in to your employer’s benefits portal or contact your HR department and ask specifically whether your plan includes Lantern, Carrum Health, Transcarent, or another surgical COE benefit.
Request a Consultation
For orthopedic procedures, contact ATX Orthopedics at (512) 960-4590. For all other surgical specialties, contact Pinnacle Surgery Center directly at (512) 439-1001. Our teams can help verify your coverage and confirm Pinnacle’s status as a preferred facility under your plan.
Let Us Coordinate the Rest
Once eligibility is confirmed, our care team works directly with your benefit platform to coordinate scheduling, pre-operative preparation, and post-surgical follow-up — all under one bundled price.
Important: COE benefit eligibility varies by employer plan and individual coverage. Cost savings quoted represent typical comparisons between ASC and hospital-based outpatient pricing and are not guaranteed for all patients or payers. Patients should verify their specific coverage with their employer’s HR department or benefits administrator. ATX Orthopedics and Pinnacle Surgery Center of Austin do not guarantee any specific out-of-pocket cost without prior benefit verification. Hospital-based surgical options remain available through Ascension Seton Medical Center for patients whose clinical needs require inpatient care.