Knee MRI cost in Knoxville, TN
In Knoxville, TN, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of knee or other lower-limb joint, no contrast dye: from $1,548.60 to $1,846.01, with a median of $1,697.31. The lowest listed price is at Physicians Regional Medical Center — $148.71 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $796.12 at 56 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 73721, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 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 Knoxville, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians Regional Medical Center lowest Powell, TN · (865) 545-8000 MR-LW JOINT WO | $1,548.60 | $6,837.07 | $84.26–$6,837.07 | 77% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lafollette Medical Center Lafollette, TN · (423) 907-1200 MR-LW JOINT WO | $1,846.01 | $6,837.07 | $84.26–$6,837.07 | 73% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,548.60, median $1,697.31, highest $1,846.01 — a 1.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $1,902.42. 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 a lower-limb joint makes detailed pictures of the joint, usually the knee, though the code also covers the hip and ankle. It shows ligaments, cartilage, the meniscus and tendons that do 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.