Shoulder MRI cost in Buffalo, NY
In Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, 5 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $549.71 to $2,604.40, with a median of $815.69. The lowest listed price is at Erie County Medical Center — $265.98 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $934.53 at 60 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 2 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 Apr 1, 2026 and Aug 25, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County Medical Center lowest Buffalo, NY · (716) 898-3936 MRI JOINT UPR EXTREM W/O DYE | $549.71 | — | $128.29–$1,240.19 | — | Aug 25, 2026 source file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 MRI Any Jt Upper Extremity W/O Contrast Matrl | $815.69 | $815.69 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 MRI Any Jt Upper Extremity W/O Contrast Matrl | $815.69 | $815.69 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 MRI Any Jt Upper Extremity W/O Contrast Matrl | $815.69 | $815.69 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo one side Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 HC MRI Joint Upr Extrm W/O Contrast Lt | $1,296.00 | $1,296.00 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo one side Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 HC MRI Joint Upr Extrm W/O Contrast Rt | $1,296.00 | $1,296.00 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital one side Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 HC MRI Joint Upr Extrm W/O Contrast Rt | $1,296.00 | $1,296.00 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital one side Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 HC MRI Joint Upr Extrm W/O Contrast Rt | $1,296.00 | $1,296.00 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital one side Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 HC MRI Joint Upr Extrm W/O Contrast Lt | $1,296.00 | $1,296.00 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital one side Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 HC MRI Joint Upr Extrm W/O Contrast Lt | $1,296.00 | $1,296.00 | $43.12–$1,296.00 | — | — source file |
| Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY Mri Joint Up Extrem W/O Contra | $2,604.40 | $2,604.40 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $549.71, median $815.69, highest $2,604.40 — a 4.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $815.69. 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.