Shoulder MRI cost in Fresno, CA
In Fresno, CA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $2,619.60 to $4,378.40, with a median of $3,841.20. The lowest listed price is at Madera Community Hospital — $1,221.60 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $2,444.00 at 92 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 73221, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 24, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jun 15, 2026 and Jul 30, 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 Fresno, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madera Community Hospital lowest Madera, CA · (559) 706-8226 MRI scan of arm joint without contrast | $2,619.60 | $4,366.00 | $306.88–$488.10 | 40% | Jul 30, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fresno Fresno, CA · (559) 448-4500 MRI ANY JT UPPER EXTREMITY W/O CONTRAST MATRL | $3,304.00 | $5,900.00 | $323.00–$1,010.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center Clovis, CA · (559) 324-4000 MRI U EXTR ANY JOINT WO CNTRST | $4,378.40 | $5,473.00 | $197.26–$6,020.30 | 20% | Jun 15, 2026 source file |
| Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center Fresno, CA · (559) 459-6000 MRI U EXTR ANY JOINT WO CNTRST | $4,378.40 | $5,473.00 | $197.26–$6,020.30 | 20% | Jun 18, 2026 source file |
| Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center Fresno, CA · (559) 459-6000 MRI U EXTR ANY JOINT WO CNTRST | $4,378.40 | $5,473.00 | $197.26–$6,020.30 | 20% | Jun 16, 2026 source file |
| Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center Fresno, CA · (559) 459-6000 MRI U EXTR ANY JOINT WO CNTRST | $4,378.40 | $5,473.00 | $197.26–$6,020.30 | 20% | Jun 18, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $2,619.60, median $3,841.20, highest $4,378.40 — a 1.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $4,378.40. 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 2 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.