Peripheral bone density scan cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 17 hospitals list a cash price for DEXA bone density scan of the wrist, heel or finger (peripheral): from $88.80 to $639.60, with a median of $183.89. The lowest listed price is at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital — $95.09 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $180.90 at 90 hospitals.
- The median here, $183.89, is 4% below the US median of $192.36.
- That is 2.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($88.91).
- Pittsburgh, PA ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Pennsylvania by median, cheapest first.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 17 facilities across 13 cities for code 77081, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 10, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 17, 2025 and Oct 28, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong County Memorial Hospital lowest Kittanning, PA BONE MINERAL DENSITY PERIPHER File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $88.80 | $296.00 | $19.45–$296.00 | 70% |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 DXA BONE DENSITY APPENDICULR File of Jul 9, 2026 · source file | $94.00 | $188.00 | $6.95–$196.54 | 50% |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $121.20 | $202.00 | $30.23–$285.40 | 40% |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $121.20 | $202.00 | $30.23–$276.75 | 40% |
| Excela Health Latrobe Hospital Latrobe, PA · (724) 832-4000 MM BONE DENSITY EXTREMITY File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $127.20 | $212.00 | $32.98–$226.62 | 40% |
| Excela Health Westmoreland Regional Hospital Greeensburg, PA · (724) 832-4000 MM BONE DENSITY EXTREM File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $127.20 | $212.00 | $32.98–$226.62 | 40% |
| Excela Health - Frick Hospital Mt Plesant, PA · (724) 547-1500 MM BONE DENSITY-EXTREMITY File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $127.20 | $212.00 | $3.66–$35.95 | 40% |
| Butler Memorial Hospital Butler, PA Bone Density Dexa Wrist File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $169.40 | $242.00 | $45.25–$254.10 | 30% |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 DEXA BONE MINERAL STUDY APPEND File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $183.89 | $262.70 | $31.60–$193.61 | 30% |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $192.00 | $320.00 | $21.22–$326.03 | 40% |
| Allegheny Valley Hospital Natrona Heights, PA · (412) 224-5100 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $335.72 | $436.00 | $25.67–$267.60 | 23% |
| Forbes Hospital Monroeville, PA · (412) 858-2000 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $340.08 | $436.00 | $25.67–$302.28 | 22% |
| Canonsburg General Hospital Canonsburg, PA · (724) 745-6100 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $340.08 | $436.00 | $25.67–$266.61 | 22% |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $353.32 | $484.00 | $28.29–$297.22 | 27% |
| Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 359-3131 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $367.84 | $484.00 | $25.67–$295.25 | 24% |
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PA · (412) 469-5000 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $372.60 | $460.00 | $25.67–$277.47 | 19% |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital one side Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 WRIST DEXA LEFT+1 more line at this price File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $639.60 | $1,066.00 | $286.75–$1,306.38 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $88.80, median $183.89, highest $639.60 — a 7.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $180.70. 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 10 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 peripheral bone density scan is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Peripheral bone density scan explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 77081 ($189.05). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PAHC DEXA APPEND SKEL PERIPHERAL | $12.00 | file |