MRI Knee Cost
Mri jnt of lwr extre w/o dye
$307Hospital outpatient total2026 Medicare, physician + facilityUnder 2026 Medicare rates, an MRI knee costs up to about $307 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility. Outside a hospital, one global fee of about $204 covers the whole test, and a ZIP code adjusts every figure to your area.
- ✓Your ZIP's wage-adjusted hospital and surgery center rates
- ✓Five nearby hospitals by name, with CMS star ratings
- ✓The add-on codes that typically land on the bill
- ✓A word-for-word script for asking for a good-faith estimate
- ✓A private link you can reopen and share
- ✓Everything in the Premium report
- ✓15 nearby hospitals instead of five
- ✓Filled good-faith-estimate request letter
- ✓Bill-negotiation letter
- ✓Printable PDF download
National Medicare physician rate (2026)
What the whole procedure costs
The office rate above is what an imaging center, lab or office is paid for the whole test. In a hospital, the facility bills its own fee and the physician bills only the reading. These are 2026 national Medicare amounts.
Medicare may pay the facility separately for this code or package it into another service on the same day, so treat the facility share as an upper bound. For a test like this the physician in a hospital bills only the reading (the professional component); outside a hospital one global fee covers the whole test, shown in the office rate above. Medicare allowed amounts are not what an uninsured patient is charged, and not a quote. Private plans typically allow more.
Get the rate for your ZIP
CMS adjusts this CPT by locality. A five-digit ZIP is enough: no account, no insurance card.
What MRI knee costs at hospitals near you
Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in your area moves the bill more than anything else you control.
Rates for your ZIP, 5 named hospitals with CMS ratings, the add-on codes, and the scheduler script.
For example 90001.
One-off payment, no account and no subscription. You get a private link and an email. No medical records and no insurance card, ever.
What these numbers are
Every figure on this page is a 2026 Medicare allowed amount: the physician line comes from the Physician Fee Schedule adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices, and the facility totals come from the CMS hospital outpatient (OPPS) and ambulatory surgery center rates. None of them is a hospital chargemaster price, your insurer's contracted rate, or a quote. Anesthesia, pathology, imaging reads and follow-up care are billed under their own codes when they apply, and an inpatient stay is paid a different way again. For this code the office and hospital physician lines differ by $141.62.
How CMS prices CPT 73721
Work is about 22% of the office total RVU; practice expense is about 77%. Localities with a high PE GPCI move this code more when practice expense is a large share.
Office vs hospital for this code
Office (non-facility) physician rate: $204.41. Hospital (facility) physician rate: $62.79.
Medicare patients typically owe 20% of the allowed amount after the Part B deductible, about $41 for the office physician fee, before any Medigap coverage. That coinsurance does not include a hospital facility fee.
Labeled private-plan and cash ranges on this page are arithmetic multiples of Medicare, not negotiated quotes. Ask the billing office for the CPT code, the site of service, and a good-faith estimate.
MRI Knee cost by state
2026 Medicare non-hospital rate for CPT 73721, averaged across each state's localities. Open a state for its locality table and full cost breakdown.
What Is MRI Knee?
A knee MRI without contrast (the lower extremity joint MRI code) shows the menisci, ligaments including the ACL, cartilage, and bone marrow, none of which appear on X-ray. It is the definitive test for suspected meniscus tears and ligament injuries. You lie on your back with the knee in a small coil for 20 to 40 minutes of painless but noisy scanning, and results typically reach your doctor within a couple of days.
What Affects the Cost
- –The hospital versus freestanding center price gap for knee MRI is large and well documented; this is a scan worth shopping.
- –Insurer authorization rules often require an X-ray and a trial of conservative care first, adding upstream visits.
- –A confirmed meniscus or ligament tear frequently leads to arthroscopy, so the MRI often begins a bigger spending episode.
- –In patients over about 50, MRI often shows incidental degenerative findings that can prompt further, sometimes unnecessary, care.
- –The radiologist's interpretation fee is a distinct component of the price.
How It Is Billed
CPT 73721 applies to any lower extremity joint without contrast, billed per joint per side, so bilateral knee imaging is two full studies. Contrast or MR arthrogram protocols for specific cartilage questions use different codes with injection charges added. Hospitals bill the scanner time and radiologist separately, while independent centers usually present one global figure, simplifying comparisons.
Insurance & Coverage Notes
Commercial plans require prior authorization almost without exception, and many deny knee MRI for suspected degenerative meniscus tears in middle-aged patients until physical therapy has been tried, reflecting evidence that therapy often works as well as surgery for those tears. Medicare has no authorization step and standard Part B coinsurance applies. Authorization approvals are usually facility-specific, so switching locations after approval can void it.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Has my insurer approved this scan, and does my chart show the X-ray and conservative care they require?
- 2.What is the all-in price at the freestanding centers near me?
- 3.Given my age, could therapy first make this MRI unnecessary?
- 4.Is the authorization tied to a specific facility?
- 5.If the MRI shows a tear, what are the typical next steps and their costs?
MRI Knee (CPT 73721): questions
Under 2026 Medicare rates, an MRI knee costs up to about $307 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility. Outside a hospital, one global fee of about $204 covers the whole test, and a ZIP code adjusts every figure to your area.
Outside a hospital, one global fee pays for the equipment, the staff and the doctor's reading, so the office or imaging center rate for CPT 73721 is $204.41. In a hospital the physician bills only the reading, about $62.79, and the hospital is paid for the rest on its own claim.
A knee MRI without contrast (the lower extremity joint MRI code) shows the menisci, ligaments including the ACL, cartilage, and bone marrow, none of which appear on X-ray. It is the definitive test for suspected meniscus tears and ligament injuries. You lie on your back with the knee in a small coil for 20 to 40 minutes of painless but noisy scanning, and results typically reach your doctor within a couple of days. CMS bills it as “Mri jnt of lwr extre w/o dye.”
It depends on the setting. At an independent imaging center, lab or office, $204.41 is Medicare's full national rate, covering the test and the reading. In a hospital outpatient department the physician is paid only for the reading (about $62.79) and the hospital is paid separately, which takes the total to about $307. Private-plan allowed amounts are often higher than Medicare; your deductible and coinsurance still apply.
For cash-pay surgery shopping, use this CPT as the Medicare floor when you compare written quotes. How cash-price shopping works.