Itemized  ·  Procedures  ·  Lumbar spine MRI without contrast

Lumbar spine MRI without contrast cost.

What lumbar spine mri without contrast costs at 149 US hospitals across 68 metros, pulled from the federally-mandated machine-readable files each hospital is required to publish. Cash-pay range: $37 to $19,475 (526× spread). CPT code 72148.

Cheapest cash price
$37
Jefferson Regional Medical Center
Jefferson Hills, PA
vs.
Most expensive cash price
$19,475
HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood
Houston, TX

Top 5 cheapest hospitals for lumbar spine mri.

# Hospital Cash price
1
Jefferson Regional Medical Center
Jefferson Hills, PA
 $37 to $2,232
2
Adventist Health Glendale
Glendale, CA
 $46 to $1,295
3
Allegheny General Hospital
Pittsburgh, PA
 $47 to $2,205
4
Jefferson Abington Hospital
Philadelphia, PA
 $81 to $269
5
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital
Chicago, IL
 $127 to $427

See all 149 hospitals, your insurance, your zip.

Pick your insurance plan, enter your zip, see your estimated out-of-pocket cost. Same data, your view.

Compare lumbar spine mri prices →

What is lumbar spine mri without contrast?

MRI of the lumbar spine, no contrast.

MRI of the lower back. Most common reason: persistent back pain, radiating leg pain (sciatica), suspected disc herniation, or pre-surgical planning.

The scan, radiologist read, and facility fee are bundled into this code. A separate physician visit to discuss results is billed separately. If your provider also orders the cervical or thoracic spine, those are different CPTs at additional cost.

Why prices vary this much.

The same lumbar spine mri without contrast on the same equipment can cost 526 times more at one hospital than another. Three reasons.

Chargemasters are arbitrary. The "sticker price" hospitals publish was never designed for consumers. It's a starting number for negotiation with insurance companies, with adjustments stacked on top for decades. Almost no one pays the chargemaster.

Negotiated rates are confidential bilateral contracts. Each insurance company 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. You see one rate; the hospital sees dozens.

Cash pay is a separate thing entirely. Many hospitals offer a "self-pay" or "cash-pay" rate that's dramatically cheaper than what they'd bill insurance, especially for elective imaging. If you have a high-deductible plan, paying cash and filing for reimbursement (or just eating the cost) can be the cheapest path.

What to ask the hospital before you book.

The four questions that surface hidden costs:

1. "Is the price you're quoting me the all-in price, or just the facility fee?" Hospitals often quote the facility fee and bill the radiologist or anesthesiologist separately on a different invoice.

2. "What's the cash-pay rate vs the rate you'd bill my insurance?" Don't assume insurance is cheaper. For high-deductible plans, cash pay is often the better deal.

3. "If I'm uninsured, do you have a financial assistance policy I qualify for?" Federally-tax-exempt hospitals are required to have one, and it can knock 50-100% off the bill for households under specific income thresholds.

4. "If I get a bill and the price is different than what was quoted, what's your dispute process?" Get the answer before you book, in writing if possible. If the bill comes in higher than the quote, you have leverage.

Common questions.

How much does lumbar spine mri without contrast cost in 2026?+
Cash-pay prices for lumbar spine mri without contrast (CPT 72148) range from $37 to $19,475 across the 149 hospitals in our dataset. The price varies by hospital, payer, and whether you pay cash or use insurance. Cash-pay rates are often dramatically cheaper than the rate insurance would pay at the same hospital, which is one of the more uncomfortable truths in this data.
Why does lumbar spine mri without contrast cost so much more at some hospitals than others?+
Three reasons. First, hospital chargemasters (the "sticker price") are largely arbitrary and were never designed for consumers. Second, hospitals in expensive real-estate markets (Manhattan, San Francisco, Boston) carry higher facility overhead. Third, the negotiated rate each insurance company pays is the result of confidential bilateral contracts, so the same procedure on the same machine can cost 5x more depending on which insurance card you hand over.
Is the cash price always the cheapest option?+
Not always, but more often than you'd expect. For lumbar spine mri without contrast in our dataset, the cash price beats the negotiated insurance rate at many hospitals, especially for patients with high-deductible plans. Always ask the hospital for both numbers before you decide which to use. If you have a low-deductible plan and the procedure is in-network, insurance is usually still cheaper.
What does the published price include?+
For lumbar spine mri without contrast (CPT 72148), the published rate generally includes the procedure itself plus the immediately associated facility and professional fees as the hospital has assigned them. It does NOT include separate physician consultations, follow-up visits, prescriptions, or any complications that require additional treatment. Always ask: "Is this the all-in price, or just the facility fee?"
Where does this data come from?+
Federal law (45 CFR 180.50, the Hospital Price Transparency Rule) requires every US hospital to publish a machine-readable file with their negotiated rates and cash prices. We download those files directly from each hospital, parse them, and present them in a comparable format. No surveys, no estimates, no scraped review sites. The data is current as of the latest publication date for each hospital.