MRA Cost: MR Angiography Pricing in 2026, UK & US
MR angiography images arteries (and MRV images veins) without ionising radiation. Costs are higher than standard MRI because the protocols are longer and contrast administration adds time and material. UK providers quote MRA individually per site rather than publishing national prices. US imaging-centre cash-pay starts at $700; hospital outpatient runs up to $7,500 for the identical study.
MRA at a Glance
How MRA pricing breaks down by region
MRA cost varies more by anatomical region than by patient insurance status. The two most common MRA studies are head MRA (typically for suspected intracranial aneurysm) and neck MRA (typically for suspected carotid or vertebral dissection). These are sometimes ordered together as a combined head-and-neck MRA, which costs less than the sum of two separate studies because the protocol runs in a single sitting.
Renal MRA is increasingly used in workup of resistant hypertension to evaluate for renal artery stenosis; it is contrast-enhanced and takes 30 to 40 minutes scanner time. Abdominal MRA is the largest-volume MRA in absolute terms because it can include the aorta, mesenteric vessels, and renal arteries in a single contrast-enhanced acquisition; it is used in vascular surgery planning, suspected mesenteric ischaemia, and pre-transplant donor evaluation.
Peripheral MRA (lower or upper extremity) is used in suspected peripheral arterial disease where ultrasound is non-diagnostic and as alternative to CT angiography in patients where contrast iodine load is a concern.
UK MRA pricing: how it actually works
No major UK private provider publishes a national MRA price list. Nuffield Health, Spire, Bupa and Welbeck quote per hospital once a referral is in place; even Vista Health, which publishes flat national pricing for standard MRI (£249), full body, cardiac and prostate studies (June 2026), does not list MRA as a published line item. Vascular protocols vary too much by indication for a single sticker price.
The practical route to a real UK number: get the referral first (MRA is a specialist study and most providers will not run it on self-referral), then ask two or three imaging providers for a quote naming the exact study (for example "TOF head MRA without contrast" or "contrast-enhanced renal MRA") and confirming whether the radiologist report and any contrast are included. Quotes obtained this way are directly comparable; a generic "MRI price" is not.
For UK NHS patients, MRA is free with a referral. Suspected acute carotid or vertebral dissection is scanned within 24 hours via stroke or vascular emergency pathways. Suspected acute aneurysm rupture is a neurosurgical emergency and CT angiography is usually the first-line study (faster, no contraindications to gadolinium); MRA is used for follow-up surveillance of treated aneurysms.
US MRA pricing
FAIR Health Consumer price-lookup data for CPT 70544 (head MRA without contrast) in early 2026 shows median cash-pay rate at an independent imaging centre around $850 and at a hospital outpatient department around $2,400. CPT 70547 (neck MRA without contrast) sits in similar bands. Combined head-and-neck MRA pricing is roughly 60 to 80 percent of two separate studies.
For abdominal MRA (CPT 74185, with-contrast), FAIR Health metro data shows median freestanding cash-pay rate around $1,300 and hospital outpatient median around $3,900. Renal MRA pricing is similar to abdominal MRA because the renal arteries are typically imaged as part of the abdominal MRA protocol.
For US insurance patients, pre-authorisation is essentially always required for MRA because of the cost. Skipping pre-auth is the leading reason MRA claims are denied. The negotiated in-network rate is typically 30 to 50 percent below cash-pay at the same facility, but cash-pay at an independent centre may still beat in-network insurance at a hospital, particularly before deductible is met.
Sources used on this page
- CMS Physician Fee Schedule, 2026
- FAIR Health Consumer MRA CPT pricing data
- ACR Appropriateness Criteria, cerebrovascular and abdominal vascular indications
- Vista Health published national pricing, verified June 2026 (no MRA line item); Nuffield, Spire, Bupa and Welbeck quote vascular studies per hospital
Frequently Asked Questions
MRA stands for magnetic resonance angiography, an MRI protocol designed specifically to image blood vessels. It can be performed with or without IV gadolinium contrast (time-of-flight MRA does not need contrast; contrast-enhanced MRA produces sharper images). In the UK, no major private provider publishes a national MRA price list; vascular studies are quoted individually per site and protocol, so request a quote naming the exact study and body region. In the US, FAIR Health data puts head MRA around $850 cash-pay at an independent imaging centre and around $2,400 at a hospital outpatient department, with abdominal MRA higher.
MRA is a specialist study ordered for specific vascular questions. Whether you need it is a clinical decision for a qualified physician.
Related cost pages
MRI With Contrast Cost
MRA is usually contrast-enhanced.
Brain MRI Cost
Head MRA often pairs with brain MRI.
Abdominal MRI Cost
Abdominal MRA often part of abdominal MRI protocol.
MRI vs CT Scan Cost
CT angiography vs MRA cost trade-offs.
3T MRI Cost
Higher-field MRA produces sharper vessel images.
US MRI Cost Guide
Full US insurance and cash-pay reference.