Shoulder MRI cost in New Orleans, LA
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 8 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $212.22 to $1,080.48, with a median of $887.40. The lowest listed price is at Childrens Hospital — $675.18 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $694.56 at 11 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 3 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 Jun 24, 2026 and Jul 1, 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childrens Hospital lowest New Orleans, LA · (504) 899-9511 MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $212.22 | $786.00 | $142.96–$786.00 | 73% | Jun 24, 2026 source file |
| Touro Infirmary New Orleans, LA · (504) 897-8247 MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $277.76 | $1,984.00 | $1,408.64–$977.00 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| University Med Center New Orleans, LA · (504) 702-3000 MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $606.10 | $2,755.00 | $1,001.17–$951.03 | 78% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| New Orleans East Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 592-6600 MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $694.56 | $4,341.00 | $1,000.00–$491.33 | 84% | Jun 24, 2026 source file |
| Lakeside Hospital Metairie, LA MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $1,080.24 | $7,716.00 | $1,003.08–$817.90 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| Tulane Medical Center New Orleans, LA MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $1,080.24 | $7,716.00 | $1,003.08–$817.90 | 86% | Jun 25, 2026 source file |
| East Jefferson General Hospital Metairie, LA · (504) 988-5263 MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $1,080.24 | $7,716.00 | $1,003.08–$817.90 | 86% | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| West Jefferson Medical Center Marrero, LA · (504) 347-5511 MRI Scan of Arm Joint | $1,080.48 | $6,753.00 | $1,273.00–$779.30 | 84% | Jun 30, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $212.22, median $887.40, highest $1,080.48 — a 5.1× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 3 of 8 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 4 it is 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.