Shoulder MRI cost in San Antonio, TX
In San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, 13 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the shoulder, elbow or wrist joint, no contrast dye: from $537.57 to $8,929.78, with a median of $8,929.78. The lowest listed price is at Santa Rosa Hospital - Westover Hills — $8,392.21 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $1,859.90 at 282 hospitals.
- The median here, $8,929.78, is 383% above the US median of $1,850.73.
- That is 36.6× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- San Antonio, TX ranks 4th of 4 metro areas in Texas by median, cheapest first.
- 9 of 13 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 5 cities for code 73221, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 4, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 13, 2026 and Oct 7, 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 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa Hospital - Westover Hills lowest San Antonio, TX · (210) 703-8211 HC 73221 MRI UPP EXT,JNT W/O CONTRAST File of Jan 13, 2026 · source file | $537.57 | $1,629.00 | $113.49–$2,372.00 | 67% |
| University Health System San Antonio, TX · (210) 358-2000 HC MRI, JOINT UPPER EXTREM - MR BRACHIAL PLEXUS WO IV CONTRAST File of Oct 7, 2026 · source file | $570.75 | $2,283.00 | $211.18–$5,707.50 | 75% |
| University Health System one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 358-2000 HC MRI, JOINT UPPER EXTREM - MR SHOULDER RIGHT WO IV CONTRAST+5 more lines at this price File of Oct 7, 2026 · source file | $570.75 | $2,283.00 | $211.18–$5,707.50 | 75% |
| Guadalupe Regional Medical Center Seguin, TX · (830) 379-2411 MRI UPPER EXT ANY JT W/O CM File of May 21, 2026 · source file | $1,475.50 | $2,951.00 | $190.49–$2,951.00 | 50% |
| Medina Regional Hospital Hondo, TX · (830) 426-7700 MRI UPPER XTREM JOINT WO CONT File of Jul 29, 2026 · source file | $2,200.77 | $2,445.29 | $294.24–$2,445.29 | 10% |
| Methodist Hospital Westover Hills one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $2,196.73–$7,590.31 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Atascosa one side Jourdanton, TX · (830) 769-3515 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $446.49–$7,590.31 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Landmark one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $2,196.73–$7,590.31 | — |
| Methodist Texsan Hospital one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $446.49–$7,590.31 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Stone Oak one side Spring Branch, TX · (210) 638-2101 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $446.49–$7,590.31 | — |
| Metropolitan Methodist one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 575-4000 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $446.49–$7,590.31 | — |
| Northeast Methodist one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $446.49–$7,590.31 | — |
| Methodist Hospital one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 575-4000 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $446.49–$8,929.78 | — |
| Methodist Specialty and Transplant one side San Antonio, TX · (210) 575-4000 MRI UP JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,929.78 | $8,929.78 | $4,375.59–$5,982.95 | — |
| University Health System both sides San Antonio, TX · (210) 358-2000 HC MRI, JOINT UPPER EXTREM - MR WRIST BILATERAL WO IV CONTRAST+2 more lines at this price File of Oct 7, 2026 · source file | $727.75 | $2,911.00 | $211.18–$7,277.50 | 75% |
Outpatient: lowest $537.57, median $8,929.78, highest $8,929.78 — a 16.6× difference within the same market.
Both sides : lowest $727.75, median $727.75, highest $727.75.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $1,293.71. 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 13 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 shoulder MRI is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Shoulder MRI explained.