How Much Does an MRI Knee Cost in Maine?
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 (national rates). Outside a hospital, at an independent imaging center, lab or office, Medicare's full rate in Maine averages $196, from $191 in Rest of Maine to $202 in Southern Maine.
- ✓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
Maine Medicare physician rate (2026)
-4.0% vs nationalAverage of 2 localities. Office range $190.69–$201.89.
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.
Your ZIP in Maine
Enter a ZIP code for your part of Maine, whether the Portland area, Lewiston-Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, the midcoast, or Aroostook County in the far north.
What MRI knee costs at hospitals near you
Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in Maine 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 04008.
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. In Maine the office and hospital physician lines for this CPT differ by $135.10.
National vs Maine
Where Maine ranks for this CPT
CPT 73721 by Maine locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| southern maine | $201.89 |
| rest of maine | $190.69 |
PE GPCI ranges from 0.920 to 0.991 in Maine. That index is why the same CPT is not one price statewide.
MRI Knee and how Maine is priced
Maine is priced as a single statewide locality with indices close to, and in parts below, the national average, so Portland and the far northern county towns share one fee schedule. CMS has never needed to subdivide a state where even the largest metro is modest by national standards. The uniform pricing belies enormous differences in access between the populous southern coast and the vast interior. For Mainers, the published statewide rates are what Medicare approves everywhere from Kittery to Fort Kent.
Maine is among the most rural states in the country and has the oldest median age, a combination that concentrates specialty care in Portland and, to a lesser degree, Bangor and Lewiston. Residents of western and northern Maine can face hours of driving for procedures, and some in the far south use Boston hospitals for complex care. Consolidation has left a small number of systems covering most of the state.
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?
Other featured procedures in Maine
MRI Knee in other states
MRI Knee in Maine: 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 (national rates). Outside a hospital, at an independent imaging center, lab or office, Medicare's full rate in Maine averages $196, from $191 in Rest of Maine to $202 in Southern Maine. Enter a ZIP for the exact Maine locality.
Yes. CMS splits Maine into 2 payment localities. For this CPT the office physician fee spans $11.20 from the lowest to highest locality. Enter a ZIP code for your part of Maine, whether the Portland area, Lewiston-Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, the midcoast, or Aroostook County in the far north.
After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $39 for the office physician line or $12 for the hospital physician line in Maine. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.
It depends on where the test is done. At an independent imaging center, lab or office, $196.29 is Medicare's full rate in Maine, covering the test and the reading. In a hospital outpatient department the physician is paid only for the reading (about $61.19) and the hospital is paid separately, which brings the national total to up to about $307. Maine ranks #22 of 51 states on the non-hospital rate (4% below the national office rate of $204.41).