CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (with and without contrast)

Facility: Lowell General Hospital

Billing Code: 70553 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$590

about 1.7× the $356 Medicare rate · typically $409–$1,327

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$587

About the fair price

about $3 under the fair price · 1.6× Medicare

Medicare pays $356 Fair price $590 This hospital $587 Cash price $2,761 Hospital's list price $3,944

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MA hospitals

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

Cheapest $381 Priciest $587

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 MA 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, brain (with and without contrast) is about $590 (about 1.7× the $356 Medicare rate). Lowell General Hospital charges insurers about $587, or about $2,761 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Lowell, MA.

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	$454 - $2,456	127%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$704 - $1,327	198%
Aetnamajor	$250 - $3,116	70%
Cignamajor	$1,520 - $1,972	426%
AmeriHealth	$1,380	387%
AvMed	$1,380	387%
GEHA	$1,380	387%
Harvard Pilgrim	$454	127%
Tufts Health Plan	$587 - $1,520	165%
WellSense	$1,380 - $3,944	387%
+ 102 smaller / regional plans	$454 - $3,283

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid.

Excludes 12 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 2,761), 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: 70553.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Lowell General Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70553.
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 Lowell General Hospital

Compare: MRI, brain (with and without contrast) at other MA hospitals

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