Shoulder MRI cost in El Paso, TX
In El Paso, TX, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $194.60 to $228.13, with a median of $228.13. The lowest listed price is at El Paso Children's Hospital — $33.53 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $1,788.37 at 97 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 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 — 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 El Paso, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso Children's Hospital lowest El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $194.60 | $973.00 | $179.42–$908.78 | 80% | — source file |
| El Paso Children's Hospital lowest El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $194.60 | $973.00 | $179.42–$908.78 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX MRI UPR EXT JT WITHOUT | $228.13 | $1,140.65 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 MRI UPR EXT JT WITHOUT | $228.13 | $1,140.65 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX MRI UPR EXT JT W/O | $228.13 | $1,140.65 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 MRI UPR EXT JT W/O | $228.13 | $1,140.65 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 REN MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 REN MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 WS MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 WS MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX WS MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX WS MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX ES MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX ES MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX REN MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX REN MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 ES MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 ES MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $247.71 | $1,238.53 | $171.12–$1,119.00 | 80% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $194.60, median $228.13, highest $228.13 — a 1.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $228.13. 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 3 of 3 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.
6 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 73221 ($1,788.37). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXSH MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $144.35 | file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXSH MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $144.35 | file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TXNE MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $162.54 | file |
| University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TXNE MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $162.54 | file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXNE MRI EXT UPPER JT W/O CONT | $162.54 | file |
| University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXNE MRI SHOULDER W/O CONT | $162.54 | file |