9 cheapest hospitals for lumbar spine mri without contrast in Houston.
Sorted by published cash-pay price, low to high. Pulled from each hospital's federally-mandated price transparency file. Cash-pay is what an uninsured patient is charged; insured patients can sometimes get the cash rate by asking. CPT code 72148.
See the full Houston list with insurance rates.
This list shows the top 9 cash-pay prices. The procedure page covers every Houston-area hospital, plus plan-specific negotiated rates if you add your insurance.
Full Houston comparison →Why prices vary this much.
The same lumbar spine mri without contrast on the same equipment can cost dramatically different amounts at different hospitals. Three reasons.
Chargemasters are arbitrary. The "sticker price" hospitals publish was never designed for consumers. It's a starting number for negotiation with insurance, with adjustments stacked on for decades.
Negotiated rates are confidential. Each insurer negotiates its own rate with each hospital. Aetna at Hospital A might pay 60% of what Cigna pays at the same hospital for the same code.
Cash pay is its own thing. Hospitals often offer self-pay rates dramatically cheaper than what they'd bill insurance, especially for elective procedures. Worth asking even if you have insurance.