Shoulder MRI cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 15 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $555.50 to $6,214.20, with a median of $2,920.80. The lowest listed price is at Uniontown Hospital — $2,365.30 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $2,143.05 at 51 hospitals.
Cash prices at 15 facilities across 9 cities for code 73221, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 25, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Apr 14, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniontown Hospital lowest Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 MRI SCAN OF ARM JOINT WITHOUT CONTRAST | $555.50 | $1,111.00 | $47.87–$538.86 | 50% | — source file |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 MRI JOINT UPR EXTREM W/O DYE | $622.00 | $1,244.00 | $47.87–$538.86 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 MRI UP EXTREM JOINTS W/O CONT | $1,554.42 | $2,220.60 | $172.84–$1,598.83 | 30% | — source file |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 MRI U E JOINT WITHOUT CONTRAST | $1,755.60 | $2,926.00 | $986.06–$2,282.28 | 40% | — source file |
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PA · (412) 295-3319 HC MRI UPR EXT JNT WO CNTRST | $2,039.44 | $2,756.00 | $132.85–$772.58 | 26% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 HC MRI UPR EXT JNT WO CNTRST | $2,117.73 | $2,901.00 | $165.45–$815.95 | 27% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 692-5325 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $2,124.60 | $3,541.00 | $229.56–$3,186.90 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PA · (412) 469-5000 HC MRI UPR EXT JNT WO CNTRST | $2,232.36 | $2,756.00 | $108.55–$761.74 | 19% | Apr 14, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $2,920.80 | $4,868.00 | $230.45–$4,283.84 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $3,682.80 | $6,138.00 | $198.97–$5,217.30 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $3,801.60 | $6,336.00 | $214.16–$5,385.60 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $3,834.60 | $6,391.00 | $213.60–$5,432.35 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $3,940.80 | $6,568.00 | $231.07–$5,254.40 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $4,125.00 | $6,875.00 | $192.10–$6,187.50 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $4,272.00 | $7,120.00 | $215.68–$6,550.40 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 MR UP EXTREM ANY JOINT WO | $6,214.20 | $10,357.00 | $248.89–$8,803.45 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $555.50, median $2,920.80, highest $6,214.20 — a 11.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $3,301.80. 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 11 of 15 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.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 73221 ($1,788.37). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PACHG MRI ANY JT UPPER EXTREMITY W/O CONTRAST MATRL | $34.20 | file |
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PACHG MRI ANY JT UPPER EXTREMITY W/O CONTRAST MATRL | $46.80 | file |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PACHG MRI ANY JT UPPER EXTREMITY W/O CONTRAST MATRL | $48.60 | file |