CT scan, head (no contrast)
Facility: Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
Billing Code: 70450 (CPT)
This hospital's typical commercial price is $99 compared to the $100 fair price benchmark.
3-Star CMS clinical quality rating paired with 0.99× fair market pricing.
On the higher side — 6 of 8 other AR hospitals charge less.
Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 AR hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.
Note: The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.
A fair price for a CT scan, head (no contrast) is about $100 (about 0.9× the $107 Medicare rate). Mercy Hospital Fort Smith charges insurers about $99, or about $1,075 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Fort Smith, AR.
What each insurance company pays
Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.
5 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital
Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.
| Insurance company | Price range | vs. Medicare |
|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcaremajor | $99 - $252 | 93% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor | $99 - $108 | 93% |
| Aetnamajor | $93 - $907 | 87% |
| Cignamajor | $104 - $738 | 97% |
| Humanamajor | $93 - $1,323 | 87% |
| Ambetter (Centene) | $142 | 133% |
| HealthLink | $992 - $1,075 | 929% |
| Independent Health | $99 | 93% |
| + 49 smaller / regional plans | $99 - $1,700 |
Self-Pay How to get the cash price
Insurance Before you use insurance
Estimate your out-of-pocket cost
A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.
Other Procedures at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
Compare: CT scan, head (no contrast) at other AR hospitals
- Lawrence Memorial Hospital · Walnut Ridge $64
- Mena Regional Health System · Mena $68
- University of Arkansas Medical Sciences · Little Rock $72
- White River Medical Center · Batesville $77
- Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas · Rogers $96
- Arkansas Children's Northwest, Inc · Springdale $98
- Arkansas Surgical Hospital · No Little Rock $103
- Arkansas Heart Hospital, LLC · Little Rock $104
Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.
Audit a Bill or Quote at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $600
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (36.3% of gross = $600).
Self-Pay Cash Rate ($1,075) Beats Your Bill
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith's published 45 CFR § 180 self-pay cash rate is $1,075 (vs. $99 commercial insurer median). Ask billing to reclassify the visit to prompt-pay self-pay if it beats your deductible.
Negotiate Toward $100 Fair BaseRate ($107 Medicare)
Your bill ($1,654) is $1,554 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($100) and 15.5× the $107 Medicare rate.
Clinical Quality, Patient Experience & Infection Benchmarks
Source: CMS Hospital Care Compare. Clinical quality metrics summarize historical facility-wide cohorts and are not medical advice for individual care decisions.
How to Pay Less Nearby: Freestanding Centers, Insurer Leverage & Outpatient Savings
Verify the Raw Data: Official Hospital MRF, CMS Medicare.gov & Federal Filings
Safe-Harbor Data Corrections: Parsed directly from public 45 CFR § 180 hospital filings, CMS Care Compare, and CMS HCRIS cost reports. Hospital compliance officers may submit updated MRF URLs or rate tables for verification.