Knee MRI cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 20 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of knee or other lower-limb joint, no contrast dye: from $298.32 to $11,682.15, with a median of $3,108.61. The lowest listed price is at Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery — $2,810.29 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $960.36 at 84 hospitals.
- The median here, $3,108.61, is 68% above the US median of $1,852.45.
- That is 12.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- Nashville, TN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Tennessee by median, cheapest first.
- 9 of 20 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 20 facilities across 17 cities for code 73721, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Oct 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 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery lowest Nashville, TN MRI JNT OF LWR EXTRE W/O DYE File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $298.32 | — | $185.27–$584.01 | — |
| Macon Community Hospital one side Lafayette, TN · (615) 666-2147 MRI HIP W/O CONTRAST LEFT+5 more lines at this price File of Mar 21, 2026 · source file | $725.16 | $1,208.60 | $152.32–$1,087.74 | 40% |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital one side Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 MRI JOINT HIP WO LEFT+11 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $735.74 | $2,452.45 | $198.37–$1,275.27 | 70% |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital one side Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 MRI LOW EXT JOINT W/O LEFT+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $735.74 | $2,452.45 | $198.37–$1,275.27 | 70% |
| Stones River Hospital one side Woodbury, TN · (615) 563-4001 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT LT+3 more lines at this price File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $974.03 | $3,246.75 | $167.52–$1,688.31 | 70% |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC MRI LWR EXT JNT W/O CON File of Oct 1, 2026 · source file | $1,356.33 | $4,677.00 | — | 71% |
| Sumner Regional Medical Center Gallatin, TN · (615) 328-8888 Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, any joint of lower extremity; without contrast material File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $1,407.36 | $6,040.16 | $520.00 | 77% |
| Williamson Medical Center Franklin, TN · (615) 435-5000 MRI LOWER EXT JOINT W/O CONT+1 more line at this price File of Aug 1, 2026 · source file | $1,620.79 | $2,874.60 | $1,158.46–$2,730.87 | 44% |
| Riverview Regional Medical Center Carthage, TN · (615) 735-9815 Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, any joint of lower extremity; without contrast material File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $1,640.16 | $5,031.16 | $454.45 | 67% |
| Metro Nashville General Hospital one side Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 MRI Knee w/o Contrast Left+5 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,900.20 | $3,167.00 | — | 40% |
| Tristar Northcrest Medical Center one side Springfield, TN · (615) 384-2411 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $4,317.01 | $4,317.01 | $302.19–$3,539.95 | — |
| Tristar Stonecrest Medical Center one side Smyrna, TN · (615) 768-2000 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $4,747.70 | $4,747.70 | $874.05–$4,367.88 | — |
| Trousdale Medical Center Hartsville, TN · (615) 374-2221 Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, any joint of lower extremity; without contrast material File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $5,107.06 | $10,073.09 | $321.40 | 49% |
| Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center one side Hendersonville, TN · (615) 338-1000 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $7,227.63 | $7,227.63 | $1,330.61–$6,649.42 | — |
| Tristar Centennial Medical Center one side Nashville, TN · (615) 342-1000 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $7,503.80 | $7,503.80 | $1,381.45–$7,503.80 | — |
| Tristar Skyline Medical Center one side Nashville, TN · (615) 769-2000 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,075.98 | $8,075.98 | $1,486.79–$7,914.46 | — |
| Tristar Southern Hills Medical Center one side Antioch, TN · (615) 781-4000 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8,254.19 | $8,254.19 | $1,519.60–$7,263.69 | — |
| Tristar Horizon Medical Center one side Dickson, TN · (615) 446-0446 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $9,675.22 | $9,675.22 | $1,781.21–$8,901.20 | — |
| Tristar Ashland City Medical Center one side Ashland City, TN · (615) 792-3030 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $11,152.34 | $11,152.34 | $2,000.00–$10,260.15 | — |
| Tristar Summit Medical Center one side Mt Juliet, TN · (615) 316-3000 MRI LW JNT W/O CONT RT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $11,682.15 | $11,682.15 | $2,150.68–$10,280.29 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $298.32, median $3,108.61, highest $11,682.15 — a 39.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $1,165.18. 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 6 of 18 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 knee MRI is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Knee MRI explained.