Scans and imaging CPT 77081 Outpatient

Peripheral bone density scan cost in Charlotte, NC

In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 15 hospitals list a cash price for DEXA bone density scan of the wrist, heel or finger (peripheral): from $56.00 to $1,189.00, with a median of $227.25. The lowest listed price is at MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center — $171.25 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $208.88 at 36 hospitals.

Cash prices at 15 facilities across 12 cities for code 77081, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 1, 2025 and May 11, 2026.

Lowest$56.00MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center

Median$227.25half of hospitals charge less

Highest$1,189.00in this market

Difference21.2×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.

median

Lowest $56.00Highest $1,189.00

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center lowest Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB DEXA BONE STUDY; APPENDICULAR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$56.00	$112.00	—	50%
Iredell Memorial Hospital Statesville, NC · (704) 878-5661 BD Bone Density DEXA App Skeleton File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file	$86.67	$321.00	$73.54–$642.00	73%
Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC DEXA BN DENSITY PERIPHERAL+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$167.13	$619.00	$54.35–$2,042.71	73%
Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 4, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$21.69–$418.14	50%
Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 1, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$51.27–$431.78	50%
Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 1, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$67.99–$431.78	50%
Atrium Health University City Charlotte, NC · (704) 548-6000 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 5, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$45.45–$440.87	50%
Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 5, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$45.45–$418.14	50%
Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 1, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$55.77–$431.78	50%
Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON+1 more line at this price File of Dec 4, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$21.69–$409.05	50%
Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC DEXA SCAN APPENDICULAR SKELETON File of Dec 4, 2025 · source file	$227.25	$454.50	$59.09–$431.78	50%
Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG XR DXA BONE DENSITY APPENDICULAR File of May 11, 2026 · source file	$357.00	$357.00	$53.73–$339.15	—
Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG XR DXA BONE DENSITY APPENDICULAR File of May 11, 2026 · source file	$357.00	$357.00	$53.73–$339.15	—
CaroMont Regional Medical Center - Gastonia Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG XR DXA BONE DENSITY APPENDICULAR File of May 11, 2026 · source file	$357.00	$357.00	$53.73–$339.15	—
MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB DEXA BONE STUDY; APPENDICULAR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$1,189.00	$2,378.00	—	50%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More

No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

Outpatient: lowest $56.00, median $227.25, highest $1,189.00 — a 21.2× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $227.25. 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 13 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.