CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$528

about 2.2× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $266–$1,223

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $528 Cash price $3,564

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

Insurer prices not shown for this procedure

This hospital’s published rates for this billing code don’t look like a per-visit price — they appear to be a full-stay total filed under an hourly code — so we’re not showing a per-insurer breakdown we can’t stand behind. The fair price above is your best reference; call the hospital’s billing office to confirm the actual charge.

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 3,564), 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 Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago 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 (%)

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Other Procedures at Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago

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

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