CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Slidell Memorial Hospital

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$324

about 1.3× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $232–$424

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$364

About the fair price

about $40 over the fair price · 1.5× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $324 This hospital $364 Cash price $492 Hospital's list price $2,983

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other LA hospitals

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

Cheapest $119 Priciest $364

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

A fair price for a MRI, lower back (no contrast) is about $324 (about 1.3× the $244 Medicare rate). Slidell Memorial Hospital charges insurers about $364, or about $492 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Slidell, LA.

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	$221 - $630	91%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$221 - $778	91%
Aetnamajor	$221 - $927	91%
Cignamajor	$1,882	772%
Humanamajor	$221 - $364	91%
AmeriHealth	$364	149%
+ 6 smaller / regional plans	$221 - $1,342

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid, Military & VA.

Excludes 3 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 492), 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 Slidell Memorial 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.

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

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

What each insurance company pays

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Insurance Before you use insurance

Other Procedures at Slidell Memorial Hospital

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