Shoulder MRI cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 4 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $577.39 to $1,075.14, with a median of $861.18. The lowest listed price is at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital — $283.79 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $786.24 at 34 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 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 Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 1, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital lowest Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 MRI, JOINT UPPER EXTREM | $577.39 | $1,991.00 | $138.50–$1,991.00 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT ELBOW WO LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT ELBOW WO LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT ELBOW WO RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT ELBOW WO RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT SHOULDER WO LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT SHOULDER WO LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT SHOULDER WO RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT SHOULDER WO RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT WRIST WO LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT WRIST WO LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT WRIST WO RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT WRIST WO RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital one side Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 MRI UPPER EXT JOINT W/O RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital one side Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 MRI UPPER EXT JOINT W/O RIGHT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital one side Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 MRI UPPER EXT JOINT W/O LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital one side Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 MRI UPPER EXT JOINT W/O LEFT | $861.18 | $2,870.60 | $197.99–$1,492.71 | 70% | — source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 MRI, JOINT UPPER EXTREM | $1,075.14 | $1,991.00 | $138.50–$1,991.00 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC MRI UPR EXT JNT W/O CON | $1,322.69 | $4,561.00 | $117.65–$3,648.80 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 HC MRI UPR EXT JNT W/O CON | $2,462.94 | $4,561.00 | $116.74–$3,648.80 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $577.39, median $861.18, highest $1,075.14 — a 1.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $861.18. 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 4 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.