Hip MRI Cost: Hip Joint Scan Prices in 2026

Hip MRI is commonly ordered for suspected labral tears, femoroacetabular impingement, avascular necrosis and occult fracture. UK private prices start around £325 and run up to £750. US prices span $450 at an independent centre to $5,000 at a hospital outpatient department. MR arthrogram, often used for hip labral evaluation, adds a separate fee.

What hip MRI actually scans, and why pricing varies

Hip MRI imaging uses CPT 73721 (without contrast), 73722 (with IV contrast), 73723 (with and without), and 73722 with code 27093 (image-guided arthrogram injection) when MR arthrogram is performed. The 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule national average for CPT 73721 at a non-facility setting is roughly $237 for the global service per the CMS Physician Fee Schedule lookup. MR arthrogram is billed as the arthrogram-injection code plus the MRI code, which is why the patient bill is higher.

Standard non-contrast hip MRI takes 25 to 35 minutes scanner time. With-contrast adds 10 to 15 minutes. MR arthrogram adds 30 to 45 minutes for the injection procedure (including image guidance and post-injection wait). Most UK private clinics quote MR arthrogram as a single bundled price; US billing splits the components.

An important note for athletic patients: bilateral hip MRI (both hips, one appointment) is commonly ordered when the suspected pathology is bilateral or when the contralateral hip is being scanned as a comparison baseline. Bilateral hip MRI costs roughly 1.5x to 1.8x a single-hip scan, both UK and US, because protocol time scales sub-linearly when both joints can be scanned in the same patient session.

UK hip MRI pricing

UK private hip MRI without contrast as of May 2026: Vista Health from £325 in regional centres; Nuffield Health from £395 nationally; Spire Healthcare from £375; Bupa from £450; OneWelbeck (London specialist clinic) from £550 with consultant musculoskeletal-radiologist interpretation included as standard. Self-referral allowed at every major provider.

MR arthrogram of the hip is offered at most regional MSK-specialist centres and at all the London musculoskeletal-imaging providers. Typical bundled pricing: Vista Health from £550, Nuffield from £695, Spire from £675, OneWelbeck and other specialist MSK centres from £950. The procedure requires a radiologist or sports physician to perform the joint injection under fluoroscopy or ultrasound guidance immediately before the MRI scan.

For patients with private medical insurance, the full MR arthrogram is usually covered after any policy excess, provided a consultant orthopaedic surgeon or sports physician has authorised the referral. Some policies require approval of the arthrogram procedure separately from the MRI, so it is worth checking with the insurer before booking if you want the cost on the insurance rather than on yourself.

US hip MRI pricing

FAIR Health Consumer price-lookup data for CPT 73721 (hip MRI without contrast) in major US metros in early 2026 shows median cash-pay rate at an independent imaging centre around $700 and at a hospital outpatient department around $2,400. Healthcare Bluebook confirms the freestanding-to-hospital gap at 3x to 6x across most metros.

For US patients with commercial insurance and a met deductible, typical out-of-pocket is $50 to $400 with copay and coinsurance regardless of facility. For high-deductible plans before the deductible is met, the negotiated in-network rate applies, and the freestanding centre is usually significantly cheaper. For uninsured patients, the independent-centre cash-pay rate is the default cheapest route; RadiologyAssist quotes hip MRI from around $350 for income-qualified self-pay.

MR arthrogram in the US is billed as the arthrogram-injection code (27093 with fluoro guidance, 27093 plus 77002 or 76942 depending on guidance modality) plus the MRI code (73722). Total bundled cash-pay pricing typically runs $1,200 to $2,500 at an independent musculoskeletal-imaging centre and $3,500 to $7,500 at a hospital outpatient department. For high-volume sports-medicine work, getting the arthrogram done at a freestanding MSK-imaging specialist often saves several thousand dollars per scan over the hospital pathway.

Sources used on this page

• CMS Physician Fee Schedule, 2026
• FAIR Health Consumer CPT 73721 metro pricing
• Healthcare Bluebook hip MRI fair-price data
• Radiopaedia hip MRI protocol
• ACR Appropriateness Criteria, chronic hip pain
• Vista Health, Nuffield, Spire, Bupa, OneWelbeck public prices, May 2026

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