Shoulder MRI cost in Lafayette, LA
In Lafayette, LA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $975.00 to $1,206.90, with a median of $1,090.95. The lowest listed price is at Acadia St Landry — $115.95 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $1,080.24 at 17 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 73221, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jun 9, 2026 and Jun 9, 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 Lafayette, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acadia St Landry lowest Church Point, LA · (337) 684-5435 MRI FINGER JOINT W/O C | $975.00 | $1,300.00 | $750.00 | 25% | — source file |
| Acadia St Landry Church Point, LA · (337) 684-5435 MRI(JOINT)UPPER EXT. W/O CONTRAST | $1,117.50 | $1,490.00 | $750.00 | 25% | — source file |
| Acadian Medical Center Eunice, LA · (337) 580-7903 MRI JOINT UPR EXTREM W/O DYE | $1,206.90 | $4,023.00 | $357.46–$8,046.00 | 70% | Jun 9, 2026 source file |
| Acadian Medical Center Eunice, LA · (337) 580-7903 MRI UP EX JOINT WO L | $1,206.90 | $4,023.00 | $357.46–$8,046.00 | 70% | Jun 9, 2026 source file |
| Acadian Medical Center one side Eunice, LA · (337) 580-7903 MRI UP EX JOINT WO RT | $1,206.90 | $4,023.00 | $357.46–$8,046.00 | 70% | Jun 9, 2026 source file |
| Acadia St Landry Church Point, LA · (337) 684-5435 MRI ELBOW W/O CONTRAST | $1,350.00 | $1,800.00 | $750.00 | 25% | — source file |
| Acadia St Landry one side Church Point, LA · (337) 684-5435 MRI LT ELBOW W/O CONTRAST | $1,350.00 | $1,800.00 | $750.00 | 25% | — source file |
| Acadia St Landry one side Church Point, LA · (337) 684-5435 MRI RT ELBOW W/O CONTRAST | $1,350.00 | $1,800.00 | $750.00 | 25% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $975.00, median $1,090.95, highest $1,206.90 — a 1.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $1,090.95. 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 1 of 2 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.