Shoulder MRI cost in Lancaster, PA
In Lancaster, PA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $350.49 to $461.50, with a median of $406.00. The lowest listed price is at Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center — $55.51 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $2,143.05 at 51 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 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 Lancaster, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center one side lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 73221 MRI Shoulder w/o Contrast Right Tech | $350.49 | $1,209.00 | $199.01–$1,023.24 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center one side lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 73221 MRI Wrist w/o Contrast Right Tech | $350.49 | $1,209.00 | $199.01–$1,023.24 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center one side lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 73221 MRI Wrist w/o Contrast Left Tech | $350.49 | $1,209.00 | $199.01–$1,023.24 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center one side lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 73221 MRI Elbow w/o Contrast Left Tech | $350.49 | $1,209.00 | $199.01–$1,023.24 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center one side lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 73221 MRI Shoulder w/o Contrast Left Tech | $350.49 | $1,209.00 | $199.01–$1,023.24 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center one side lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 73221 MRI Elbow w/o Contrast Right Tech | $350.49 | $1,209.00 | $199.01–$1,023.24 | 71% | — source file |
| Ephrata Community Hospital Ephrata, PA · (717) 733-0311 MRI Scan of Arm Joint Without Contrast | $461.50 | $2,225.00 | $235.78–$1,624.00 | 79% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $350.49, median $406.00, highest $461.50 — a 1.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $406.00. 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 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.