Shoulder MRI cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 16 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $1,171.26 to $7,138.50, with a median of $1,938.28. The lowest listed price is at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital — $767.02 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $1,938.28 at 37 hospitals.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 13 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 Dec 1, 2025 and Sep 1, 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC MRI UPR EXT JOINT WO CNTRST | $1,171.26 | $4,338.00 | $229.91–$2,819.70 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 MRI Upr Ext Joint WO Cntrst | $1,171.26 | $4,338.00 | $1,010.20–$1,495.86 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 MRI Upr Ext Joint WO Cntrst | $1,171.26 | $4,338.00 | $1,010.20–$1,495.86 | 73% | — source file |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB MRI UPPER EXT JOINT W/O CONTRAST | $1,438.00 | $2,876.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $246.55–$3,488.90 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,682.72 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $231.30–$3,682.72 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,682.72 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,566.43 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,760.25 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,682.72 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,488.90 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $234.50–$3,566.43 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $736.54–$3,876.55 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Charlotte, NC HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $246.55–$3,566.43 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Belmont, NC HC MRI UPPER EXTREMITY COMBO WO CONTRAST | $1,938.28 | $3,876.55 | $246.55–$3,566.43 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB MRI UPPER EXT JOINT W/O CONTRAST | $3,009.50 | $6,019.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG MRI EXTR UPPR JT WO CONT RT | $5,290.00 | $5,290.00 | $243.77–$5,025.50 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG MRI EXTR UPPR JT WO CONT LT | $5,290.00 | $5,290.00 | $243.77–$5,025.50 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Mount Holly, NC HCHG MRI EXTR UPPR JT WO CONT RT | $5,290.00 | $5,290.00 | $243.77–$5,025.50 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Belmont, NC HCHG MRI EXTR UPPR JT WO CONT RT | $5,290.00 | $5,290.00 | $243.77–$5,025.50 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Belmont, NC HCHG MRI EXTR UPPR JT WO CONT LT | $5,290.00 | $5,290.00 | $243.77–$5,025.50 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital one side Mount Holly, NC HCHG MRI EXTR UPPR JT WO CONT LT | $5,290.00 | $5,290.00 | $243.77–$5,025.50 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill, SC MRI UP EXT JNT W/O CM | $7,138.50 | $9,518.00 | $1.00–$7,233.68 | 25% | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Rock Hill, SC MRI UP EXT JNT W/O CM | $7,138.50 | $9,518.00 | $1.00–$7,233.68 | 25% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,171.26, median $1,938.28, highest $7,138.50 — a 6.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $1,938.28. 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 11 of 14 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.