CPT73721

MRI Knee Cost in Connecticut

Mri jnt of lwr extre w/o dye

$448Hospital outpatient total2026 Medicare, physician + facility
Hospital payments are wage-adjusted by locality, so the ZIP changes the numbers.
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Connecticut Medicare physician rate (2026)

+6.7% vs national

Single statewide locality.

Connecticut (Hospital)
$218.04
Facility physician fee
Private plan est.
$283–$436
~130–200% of Medicare
Cash / self-pay est.
$174–$327
~80–150% of Medicare

What the whole procedure costs

The rate above is the physician’s fee on its own. The facility bills separately, and for most procedures the facility is the larger half of the bill. These are 2026 national Medicare amounts.

Surgery centre, total
$336
$204 physician + $131 facility
Physician fee alone
$204
Only 46% of the hospital total

Choosing a surgery centre over a hospital saves about $112 on the Medicare allowed amount for mri knee. Ask whether your procedure can be done at an ambulatory surgery centre.

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. Medicare allowed amounts are not what an uninsured patient is charged, and not a quote. Private plans typically allow more.

Your ZIP in Connecticut

Look up your ZIP code for local detail across Connecticut, including the New Haven and Hartford areas, Fairfield County and Stamford, and the quieter eastern and northwestern corners.

What mri knee costs at hospitals near you

Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in Connecticut moves the bill more than anything else you control.

Locked

Rates for your ZIP, 5 named hospitals with CMS ratings, the add-on codes, and the scheduler script.

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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 centre 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.

National vs Connecticut

National office$204.41
National hospital (physician)$204.41
Connecticut vs national7% above the national office rate of $204.41

Where Connecticut ranks for this CPT

Rank (lowest physician fee first)#44 of 51
Lowest stateArkansas ($180.77)
Highest stateAlaska ($235.33)

MRI Knee and how Connecticut is priced

Despite sitting between two of the priciest metros in America, Connecticut is priced as one statewide Medicare locality, with geographic indices well above the national average. Every town from Stamford to Storrs shares the same adjustments, which are pushed up by the state's high wages, rents, and insurance costs. The uniform locality means Fairfield County's proximity to New York does not add a further Medicare premium beyond the statewide level. In practice Connecticut's Medicare-approved amounts rank among the higher states outside the biggest coastal cities.

Connecticut's hospital market has consolidated around a few large systems, and a major academic medical center in New Haven draws complex cases from across the state. Residents of Fairfield County routinely cross into New York for care, while some in the north lean toward Springfield or Boston providers. High commercial prices in the state make Medicare rates and transparent cash pricing especially useful comparison points here.

This procedure: 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 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.

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 in Connecticut: questions

Connecticut is a single Medicare locality for this fee schedule. The 2026 physician rate for CPT 73721 is $218.04 in an office and $218.04 in a hospital, statewide. A ZIP lookup still confirms the locality mapping.

Not on the physician fee schedule. Connecticut uses one locality, so the Medicare physician rate is the same from one end of the state to the other. What still changes is site of service (office vs hospital) and any facility fee the hospital bills on its own claim.

After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $44 for the office physician line or $44 for the hospital physician line in Connecticut. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.

No. $218.04 is only the physician's share. Adding Medicare's facility payment brings the total to about $448 in a hospital outpatient department, or about $336 at an ambulatory surgery centre. Anesthesia, pathology and other codes billed the same day are extra. Connecticut ranks #44 of 51 states on the physician line (7% above the national office rate of $204.41).

Data source: 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (CMS PPRRVU26B, released March 2026). Conversion factor: $33.4009. Prices shown are Medicare allowed amounts for the physician service and may not match what you are billed. Private insurance and self-pay ranges, when shown, are labeled estimates (typical multiples of Medicare), not quotes. This site is an independent cost tool, not medical advice.