CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Palmetto General Hospital

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$270

about 1.1× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $222–$681

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$238

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $32 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $270 This hospital $238 Cash price $10,360 Hospital's list price $10,360

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other FL hospitals

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

Cheapest $101 Priciest $238

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 FL 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 MRI, lower back (no contrast) is about $270 (about 1.1× the $244 Medicare rate). Palmetto General Hospital charges insurers about $238, or about $10,360 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Hialeah, FL.

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✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana Blue Cross Blue ShieldKaiser 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	$156 - $10,360	64%
Aetnamajor	$186 - $7,356	76%
Cignamajor	$246 - $5,180	101%
Humanamajor	$154 - $468	63%
Ambetter (Centene)	$440	180%
AmeriHealth	$511	210%
AvMed	$174 - $487	71%
Bright Health	$285	117%
Devoted Health	$234	96%
Molina	$453	186%
Oscar Health	$284	117%
+ 31 smaller / regional plans	$196 - $10,360

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid, 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 10,360), 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 Palmetto General 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 Palmetto General Hospital

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

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