How Much Does a Knee X-Ray Cost in Minnesota?
X-ray exam of knee 1 or 2
$97Hospital outpatient total2026 Medicare, physician + facilityUnder 2026 Medicare rates, a knee x-ray costs up to about $97 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 Minnesota averages $35.
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- ✓The add-on codes that typically land on the bill
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Minnesota Medicare physician rate (2026)
+1.0% vs nationalSingle statewide locality.
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 Minnesota
Check your ZIP code for your part of Minnesota, whether Minneapolis-St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, or the farm and lake country beyond.
What knee x-ray costs at hospitals near you
Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in Minnesota 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 55001.
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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 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 Minnesota the office and hospital physician lines for this CPT differ by $26.91.
National vs Minnesota
Where Minnesota ranks for this CPT
Knee X-Ray and how Minnesota is priced
Minnesota's physician fees are set through a small number of Medicare payment localities rather than a single statewide one, distinguishing the Twin Cities region from the rest of the state. Geographic adjustments in the metro run higher than in greater Minnesota, though the gap is modest by coastal standards. The state is otherwise notable for how its practice patterns, historically efficient and integrated, have featured in national Medicare policy debates. From Duluth to Worthington, non-metro Minnesota prices off common lower-cost factors.
The Twin Cities host a dense, integrated medical market, and Rochester is home to one of the most famous referral centers in the world, drawing patients from every state and abroad. Greater Minnesota relies on regional hubs like Duluth, St. Cloud, and Mankato, with long winter drives a real factor in care planning. Minnesota's tradition of integrated group practice tends to make billing more coordinated than in many states.
This procedure: A knee X-ray takes one or two views of the knee joint, checking for fractures, arthritis, alignment problems, and fluid. It is the recommended first test for most knee pain, especially in patients over 50 where arthritis is likely, and often the only imaging needed. The technologist positions your leg for each quick exposure; standing views may be taken because they show arthritis narrowing better than lying down. The whole visit takes minutes.
What Is Knee X-Ray?
A knee X-ray takes one or two views of the knee joint, checking for fractures, arthritis, alignment problems, and fluid. It is the recommended first test for most knee pain, especially in patients over 50 where arthritis is likely, and often the only imaging needed. The technologist positions your leg for each quick exposure; standing views may be taken because they show arthritis narrowing better than lying down. The whole visit takes minutes.
What Affects the Cost
- –Orthopedic and primary care offices with in-house X-ray typically cost less than hospital radiology departments.
- –Weight-bearing or additional specialized views can be billed as expanded series under related codes.
- –A separate radiologist reading fee may apply where images are sent out for interpretation.
- –A normal X-ray in a younger patient with mechanical symptoms often leads to a knee MRI at many times the price.
- –Imaging both knees for comparison doubles the studies billed.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Can the X-ray be done here in the office today, and what will it add to my bill?
- 2.Are standing views needed, and are they billed differently?
- 3.Is an outside radiologist reading the film for a separate fee?
- 4.Based on my age and symptoms, is an MRI likely to be needed, or should the X-ray settle it?
- 5.If you want to compare both knees, is that one charge or two?
Other featured procedures in Minnesota
Knee X-Ray in other states
Knee X-Ray in Minnesota: questions
Under 2026 Medicare rates, a knee x-ray costs up to about $97 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 Minnesota averages $35. Minnesota is a single Medicare locality, so the physician rate is the same statewide.
Not on the physician fee schedule. Minnesota 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 $7 for the office physician line or $2 for the hospital physician line in Minnesota. 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, $34.76 is Medicare's full rate in Minnesota, covering the test and the reading. In a hospital outpatient department the physician is paid only for the reading (about $7.85) and the hospital is paid separately, which brings the national total to up to about $97. Minnesota ranks #37 of 51 states on the non-hospital rate (within 2% of the national office rate of $34.40).