Shoulder MRI cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 8 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $403.04 to $2,387.40, with a median of $1,372.35. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center South — $969.31 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $1,984.95 at 17 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 5 cities for code 73221, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center South lowest Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Chg MRI Any Jt Upper Extremity W/O Contrast Matrl | $403.04 | $895.64 | $285.95–$814.43 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Chg MRI Any Jt Upper Extremity W/O Contrast Matrl | $449.36 | $998.58 | $285.95–$1,548.00 | 55% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC MRI U Extr; Any Joint WO Contrast | $715.40 | $1,022.00 | $115.28–$1,022.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC MRI U Extr; Any Joint WO Contrast | $1,141.70 | $1,631.00 | $230.56–$2,446.50 | 30% | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC MRI-Jnt Upp Extrem W/O Contrast | $1,603.00 | $1,603.00 | $285.02–$1,603.00 | — | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC MRI U Extr; Any Joint WO Contrast | $1,827.70 | $2,611.00 | $165.67–$2,611.00 | 30% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Chg MRI Any Jt Upper Extremity W/O Contrast Matrl | $1,984.95 | $4,411.00 | $230.56–$3,749.35 | 55% | — source file |
| Shriners Childrens - Boston Boston, MA · (617) 722-3000 MRI JOINT UPR EXTREM W/O DYE | $2,387.40 | $2,387.40 | $188.97–$817.41 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $403.04, median $1,372.35, highest $2,387.40 — a 5.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $1,141.70. 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 6 of 8 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.