CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Adventist Health Bakersfield

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$326

about 1.3× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $235–$496

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$279

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $47 under the fair price · 1.1× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $326 This hospital $279 Cash price $546 Hospital's list price $3,637

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other CA hospitals

Highest price of the 9 CA hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $60 Priciest $279

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 CA hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

A fair price for a MRI, lower back (no contrast) is about $326 (about 1.3× the $244 Medicare rate). Adventist Health Bakersfield charges insurers about $279, or about $546 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Bakersfield, CA.

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✓ Kaiser Permanente Humana

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	$70 - $2,127	29%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$70 - $1,807	29%
Aetnamajor	$154 - $1,698	63%
Cignamajor	$39 - $1,239	16%
Kaiser Permanentemajor	$307 - $528	126%
Health Net	$70 - $465	29%
Oscar Health	$70 - $491	29%
+ 16 smaller / regional plans	$70 - $3,917

Government programs also on file: Medicaid.

Excludes 8 rental-network / third-party entries (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 546), 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: 72148.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Adventist Health Bakersfield is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 72148.
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 Adventist Health Bakersfield

Compare: MRI, lower back (no contrast) at other CA hospitals

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