CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (with and without contrast)

Facility: Sharp Coronado Hospital and Hlthcr Ctr

Billing Code: 70553 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$470

about 1.3× the $356 Medicare rate · typically $388–$964

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

Medicare pays $356 Fair price $470 Cash price $4,562 Hospital's list price $6,083

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

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

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana Kaiser Permanente

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	$1,065 - $4,258	299%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$4,136 - $4,866	1160%
Aetnamajor	$2,068 - $3,881	580%
Cignamajor	$912 - $4,197	256%
Humanamajor	$3,437	964%
Health Net	$1,807 - $4,562	507%
Molina	$2,370 - $4,866	665%
+ 6 smaller / regional plans	$1,065 - $4,562

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid.

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price (about 4,562), before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the CPT code on your bill matches exactly: 70553.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Sharp Coronado Hospital and Hlthcr Ctr is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70553.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at Sharp Coronado Hospital and Hlthcr Ctr

Compare: MRI, brain (with and without contrast) at other CA hospitals

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.