Knee MRI with contrast cost in Washington, DC
In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 19 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of knee or other lower-limb joint, without and then with contrast dye: from $973.31 to $11,821.05, with a median of $2,147.00. The lowest listed price is at Frederick Health Hospital — $1,173.69 less than the median here. Across District of Columbia, the median is $2,786.93 at 3 hospitals.
- The median here, $2,147.00, is 20% below the US median of $2,670.10.
- That is 6.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($356.43).
- 3 of 19 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 19 facilities across 16 cities for code 73723, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 30, 2024 and Sep 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Health Hospital one side lowest Frederick, MD · (240) 566-3300 MRI LOWER EXT JT LT WWO CONT+7 more lines at this price File of Mar 17, 2025 · source file | $973.31 | $993.17 | $973.31–$993.17 | 2% |
| MedStar Southern Hospital Center one side Clinton, MD · (301) 868-8000 BC-LWR EXT JOINT LEFT WO W CON+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,069.51 | $1,091.34 | $1,069.51–$1,091.34 | 2% |
| MedStar Southern Hospital Center Clinton, MD · (301) 868-8000 MRI LOWER EXT JOINT WO W CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,069.51 | $1,091.34 | $1,069.51–$1,091.34 | 2% |
| Inova Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, VA · (703) 698-1110 HC MRI LOEX JT WWO IV CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,419.00 | $2,838.00 | $357.13–$4,418.58 | 50% |
| Inova Alexandria Hospital Alexandria, VA · (703) 504-3167 HC MRI LOEX JT WWO IV CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,419.00 | $2,838.00 | $357.13–$4,418.58 | 50% |
| Inova Mount Vernon Hospital Alexandria, VA · (703) 664-7105 HC MRI LOEX JT WWO IV CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,419.00 | $2,838.00 | $357.13–$4,418.58 | 50% |
| Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Fairfax, VA · (703) 391-4170 HC MRI LOEX JT WWO IV CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,419.00 | $2,838.00 | $357.13–$4,418.58 | 50% |
| Inova Loudoun Hospital Leesburg, VA · (703) 858-6600 HC MRI LOEX JT WWO IV CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,419.00 | $2,838.00 | $357.13–$4,418.58 | 50% |
| Jefferson Medical Center Ranson, WV · (304) 728-1600 MRI JOINT LWR EXTR W/O&W/DYE File of Jul 12, 2026 · source file | $1,854.00 | $3,708.00 | — | 50% |
| Stafford Hospital Stafford, VA · (540) 741-9000 Mri joint lwr extr w/o&w/dye File of Dec 30, 2024 · source file | $2,147.00 | $4,294.00 | $366.00–$3,315.00 | 50% |
| Mary Washington Hospital Fredericksburg, VA · (540) 741-1100 Mri joint lwr extr w/o&w/dye File of Dec 30, 2024 · source file | $2,147.00 | $4,294.00 | $366.00–$3,689.00 | 50% |
| MedStar Washington Hospital Center one side Washington, DC · (202) 877-7000 BC LWR EXT JOINT RIGHT WOW CON+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,637.64 | $4,057.90 | $1,136.21–$3,767.64 | 35% |
| MedStar Washington Hospital Center Washington, DC · (202) 877-7000 MRI LOWER EXT JOINT WO W CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,637.64 | $4,057.90 | $1,136.21–$3,767.64 | 35% |
| MedStar Georgetown Hospital one side Northwest Washington, DC · (202) 784-3000 BC LWR EXT JOINT RIGHT WOW CON+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,786.93 | $4,287.58 | $1,200.52–$3,858.82 | 35% |
| MedStar Georgetown Hospital Northwest Washington, DC · (202) 784-3000 MRI LOWER EXT JOINT WO W CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,786.93 | $4,287.58 | $1,200.52–$3,858.82 | 35% |
| Fauquier Health Warrenton, VA · (540) 316-5000 Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, any joint of lower extremity; without contrast material(s), followed by contrast material(s) and further sequences File of Jul 14, 2026 · source file | $3,202.40 | $8,006.00 | $2,627.00 | 60% |
| Children's National Hospital one side Washington, DC · (202) 476-5000 MR Ankle LT w/wo Contrast+5 more lines at this price File of Apr 2, 2026 · source file | $3,320.00 | $6,640.00 | $332.34–$10,874.45 | 50% |
| Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center Woodbridge, VA · (703) 523-1000 Chgr-Mri Low Joint W/Wo Contrast File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $3,433.50 | $6,867.00 | — | 50% |
| MedStar Montgomery Medical Center one side Olney, MD · (301) 774-8882 BC-LWR EXT JOINT LEFT WO W CON+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $3,485.78 | $3,556.92 | $3,485.78–$3,556.92 | 2% |
| MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Olney, MD · (301) 774-8882 MRI LOWER EXT JOINT WO W CONT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $3,485.78 | $3,556.92 | $3,485.78–$3,556.92 | 2% |
| Reston Hospital Center one side Reston, VA · (703) 689-9000 MRI LW JNT W&WO CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $11,091.32 | $11,091.32 | $7,874.84 | — |
| Stonesprings Hospital Center one side Dulles, VA · (571) 349-4000 MRI LW JNT W&WO CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $11,094.44 | $11,094.44 | $2,107.94–$9,430.27 | — |
| Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center one side Fredericksburg, VA · (540) 498-4000 MRI LW JNT W&WO CONT LT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $11,821.05 | $11,821.05 | $2,246.00–$10,638.94 | — |
| Children's National Hospital both sides Washington, DC · (202) 476-5000 MR Hip Bilat w/wo Contrast+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 2, 2026 · source file | $6,640.00 | $13,280.00 | $332.34–$10,874.45 | 50% |
Outpatient: lowest $973.31, median $2,147.00, highest $11,821.05 — a 12.1× difference within the same market.
Both sides : lowest $6,640.00, median $6,640.00, highest $6,640.00.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $1,783.00. 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 13 of 17 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 with contrast is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Knee MRI with contrast explained.