What an MRI scan costs: United States vs. other countries
One MRI scan of a leg joint, without contrast, as an outpatient.
Typical price paid to hospitals and doctors for an MRI scan, from one report on the same basis: $566 in the United States, $527 in the United Kingdom, $613 in Germany, $325 in Australia. Source: International Health Care Cost Comparison Report 2024 (Report dated October 2024. Prices are for 2022.). These are not what one patient was charged; what patients pay is in the table.
| Country | Price paid to the hospital | What a patient usually pays | Typical wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $566 (iFHP) | With Medicare and no extra insurance: $66 at a surgery center or $88 at a hospital, on average (Medicare.gov) | Not yet sourced |
| Canada | $62.80 in Canadian dollars, not converted: the doctor’s fee in Ontario for reading an MRI of one limb or joint. The scan itself is paid from the hospital budget (Ontario) | No charge for medically necessary hospital and doctor care (Commonwealth Fund) | Half of patients had the scan within 59 days of the order (CIHI) |
| United Kingdom | $527 (iFHP) | No charge. NHS care is free when you use it (Commonwealth Fund) | 19.6% of people waiting had waited 6 weeks or more (England) (NHS England) |
| France | Not yet sourced | National insurance pays 70% of an outpatient visit (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| Germany | $613 (iFHP) | Co-payments are capped at 2% of gross income a year (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| Japan | ¥13,300 for the scan on a 1.5-tesla machine and ¥4,500 for reading it: national fees, not added up (MHLW Japan) | 30% of the bill for most adults, with a monthly cap (Commonwealth Fund) | Not yet sourced |
| Australia | $325 (iFHP) | Not yet sourced | Not yet sourced |
Where no sourced figure exists, the cell says so. We do not fill gaps with estimates.