Peripheral bone density scan cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for DEXA bone density scan of the wrist, heel or finger (peripheral): from $94.00 to $192.00, with a median of $121.20. The lowest listed price is at Uniontown Hospital — $27.20 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $182.55 at 50 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 77081, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 6, 2026 and Mar 6, 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 DXA BONE DENSITY APPENDICULR | $94.00 | $188.00 | $6.95–$196.54 | 50% | — source file |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL | $121.20 | $202.00 | $30.23–$285.40 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL | $121.20 | $202.00 | $30.23–$276.75 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 DEXA BONE MINERAL STUDY APPEND | $183.89 | $262.70 | $31.60–$193.61 | 30% | — source file |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL | $192.00 | $320.00 | $21.22–$326.03 | 40% | Mar 6, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $94.00, median $121.20, highest $192.00 — a 2.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $139.41. 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 5 of 5 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
This code covers a bone density test of the wrist, heel or finger, used for screening when a hip and spine scan is not available.
What the price covers
The price covers the scan and the reading.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 77081 ($188.40). 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.
| AHN Wexford Hospital Wexford, PACHG DXA BONE DENSITY STUDY 1/>SITES APPENDICLR SKEL | $6.76 | file |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PAHC DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL | $12.00 | file |