CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)

Facility: Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware

Billing Code: 72131 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$199

about 1.9× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $126–$257

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$222

About the fair price

about $23 over the fair price · 2.1× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $199 This hospital $222 Cash price $4,017 Hospital's list price $4,017

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other DE hospitals

A typical price — 3 charge more and 5 charge less, among the 9 DE hospitals compared.

Cheapest $127 Priciest $411

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

⚠ 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, lower back (lumbar spine) is about $199 (about 1.9× the $107 Medicare rate). Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware charges insurers about $222, or about $4,017 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Wilmington, DE.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

4 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna HumanaKaiser 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	$1,474 - $2,507	1380%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$1,486 - $3,547	1391%
Aetnamajor	$1,704 - $2,330	1595%
Cignamajor	$2,209 - $2,531	2068%
Ambetter (Centene)	$2,290	2144%
AmeriHealth	$1,231 - $2,290	1153%
Fidelis Care	$1,607	1505%
Geisinger	$2,410	2256%
HealthPartners	$1,558	1459%
UPMC Health Plan	$1,591	1490%
+ 14 smaller / regional plans	$51 - $4,017

Government programs also on file: Military & VA.

Excludes 6 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 4,017), 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: 72131.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 72131.
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 Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware

Compare: CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) at other DE hospitals

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