Shoulder X-Ray Cost in Missouri
X-ray exam of shoulder
Missouri Medicare physician rate (2026)
-6.7% vs nationalAverage of 3 localities. Office range $31.71–$34.35.
Your ZIP in Missouri
Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What this number is
The figures on this page are 2026 Medicare physician allowed amounts for a specific CPT code: the professional fee, adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices. They are not a hospital chargemaster price, not your insurer's contracted rate, and not a quote. Hospital facility fees, anesthesia, implants, imaging reads, and pathology are billed separately when they apply.
National vs Missouri
Where Missouri ranks for this CPT
CPT 73030 by Missouri locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| metropolitan st. louis | $34.35 |
| metropolitan kansas city | $33.95 |
| rest of missouri | $31.71 |
PE GPCI ranges from 0.862 to 0.952 in Missouri. That index is why the same CPT is not one price statewide.
Shoulder X-Ray and how Missouri is priced
Missouri is a three-locality state: metropolitan St. Louis and metropolitan Kansas City are each priced separately, and everywhere else falls into a rest-of-state locality with lower geographic adjustments. Both metro localities approve higher amounts than outstate Missouri, and the Kansas City locality applies only to the Missouri side of that metro, since the Kansas side prices under Kansas's statewide locality. Springfield, Columbia, and the rural counties all share rest-of-state factors. The metro-versus-outstate gap is the main pricing story here.
St. Louis and Kansas City hold the state's academic medical centers and most of its specialty depth, drawing patients from far beyond Missouri's borders, including southern Illinois and eastern Kansas. Outstate Missouri is served by regional hubs in Springfield, Columbia, and Cape Girardeau, with the Ozarks and Bootheel among the harder places to reach specialty care. Rural hospital viability has been a persistent concern across the state.
This procedure: A shoulder X-ray takes two or more views of the shoulder joint in a few minutes, checking for fractures, dislocations, arthritis, or calcium deposits. It is usually the first imaging test for shoulder pain because it is fast and inexpensive, even though it cannot see the rotator cuff tendons themselves. You stand or sit while the technologist positions your arm for each view; no preparation is needed and the radiation dose is small.
What Is Shoulder X-Ray?
A shoulder X-ray takes two or more views of the shoulder joint in a few minutes, checking for fractures, dislocations, arthritis, or calcium deposits. It is usually the first imaging test for shoulder pain because it is fast and inexpensive, even though it cannot see the rotator cuff tendons themselves. You stand or sit while the technologist positions your arm for each view; no preparation is needed and the radiation dose is small.
What Affects the Cost
- An orthopedic office with in-house X-ray often bills less overall than a hospital radiology department for the same views.
- The radiologist or orthopedist reading fee may be billed separately from the technical charge.
- Because X-rays cannot show tendons, a normal result often leads to a shoulder MRI, which costs many times more.
- ER imaging for a suspected dislocation carries emergency facility pricing.
- Comparison views of the other shoulder, when ordered, can add a second billed study.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Is the X-ray billed on top of today's visit charge, and at what price?
- 2.Who reads the images, and is their fee separate?
- 3.If the X-ray is normal, will you order an MRI, and what will that authorization and cost look like?
- 4.Do you need views of both shoulders for comparison, and does that double the imaging charge?
- 5.Can I get the images done here in your office rather than at the hospital?
Other featured procedures in Missouri
Shoulder X-Ray in other states
Shoulder X-Ray in Missouri: questions
How much does shoulder x-ray cost in Missouri?
The 2026 Medicare physician office rate for CPT 73030 averages $33.34 across 3 Missouri localities, from $31.71 in REST OF MISSOURI to $34.35 in METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS. The hospital physician rate averages $33.34. Enter a ZIP for the exact locality.
Does the rate change inside Missouri?
Yes. CMS splits Missouri into 3 payment localities. For this CPT the office physician fee spans $2.64 from the lowest to highest locality. Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What will a Medicare patient owe for the physician fee?
After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $7 for the office physician line or $7 for the hospital physician line in Missouri. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.
Is this the full shoulder x-ray bill in Missouri?
No. $33.34 is the Medicare physician allowed amount for CPT 73030. Anesthesia, facility fees, implants, and other CPT codes billed the same day are extra. Missouri ranks #15 of 51 states on this physician line (7% below the national office rate of $35.74).