CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$464

about 1.9× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $195–$667

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$243

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $221 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $464 This hospital $243 Hospital's list price $3,161

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other CO hospitals

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

Cheapest $70 Priciest $243

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

A fair price for a MRI, lower back (no contrast) is about $464 (about 1.9× the $244 Medicare rate). Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital charges insurers about $243 — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Brighton, CO.

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	$243 - $2,336	100%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$1,171 - $2,460	480%
Aetnamajor	$2,519	1033%
Cignamajor	$1,128 - $2,192	463%
Humanamajor	$1,327	544%
GEHA	$2,336 - $2,519	958%
SelectHealth	$243	100%
+ 1 smaller / regional plan	$243

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, 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 Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital 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 Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital

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

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