Shoulder MRI cost in Baton Rouge, LA
In Baton Rouge, LA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $362.60 to $2,262.05, with a median of $1,479.00. The lowest listed price is at Ochsner St Mary — $1,116.40 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $763.70 at 53 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 73221, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Baton Rouge, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ochsner St Mary lowest Morgan City, LA · (985) 384-2200 HC MRI UP EXT JT W/O CONTRAS source file | $362.60 | $1,813.00 | $93.20–$2,330.00 | 80% |
| Ochsner Medical Center - Baton Rouge Baton Rouge, LA · (225) 752-2470 HC MRI UP EXT JT W/O CONTRAS source file | $451.20 | $1,410.00 | $25.49–$1,667.00 | 68% |
| Surgical Specialty Center one side Baton Rouge, LA · (225) 408-8080 MRI UP JT LT W/O+1 more line at this price source file | $1,479.00 | $1,972.00 | $209.11–$1,972.00 | 25% |
| West Feliciana Parish Hospital one side St Francisville, LA · (225) 635-3811 MRI ELBOW LT W/O CONTRAST+9 more lines at this price source file | $1,845.03 | $3,075.05 | — | 40% |
| West Feliciana Parish Hospital St Francisville, LA · (225) 635-3811 INACTIVE source file | $1,845.03 | $3,075.05 | $241.88–$3,382.55 | 40% |
| Baton Rouge General Medical Center one side Baton Rouge, LA · (225) 387-7767 MRI UP EXT ANY JOINT W/O LT+1 more line at this price source file | $2,262.05 | $3,231.50 | $141.89–$2,488.26 | 30% |
Outpatient: lowest $362.60, median $1,479.00, highest $2,262.05 — a 6.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $1,204.60. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 4 of 4 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
An MRI of an upper-limb joint makes detailed pictures of one joint, most often the shoulder, though the code also covers the elbow and wrist. It shows tendons, ligaments, cartilage and the labrum, such as a rotator cuff tear that does not show on X-rays. No contrast dye is used.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the scan of one joint. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.