CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Mosaic Life Care at St Joseph

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$198

about 0.8× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $167–$215

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$200

About the fair price

about $2 over the fair price · 0.8× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $198 This hospital $200 Cash price $1,700 Hospital's list price $2,000

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MO hospitals

A typical price — 2 charge more and 5 charge less, among the 9 MO hospitals compared.

Cheapest $106 Priciest $215

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 MO 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 $198 (about 0.8× the $244 Medicare rate). Mosaic Life Care at St Joseph charges insurers about $200, or about $1,700 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Saint Joseph, MO.

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	$58 - $3,525	24%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$75 - $2,170	31%
Aetnamajor	$58 - $2,068	24%
Cignamajor	$1,320 - $2,200	541%
Ambetter (Centene)	$321 - $463	132%
Amerigroup	$72 - $493	30%
GEHA	$1,218 - $2,030	500%
HealthLink	$1,288 - $2,146	528%
Molina	$72 - $493	30%
SelectHealth	$1,288 - $2,146	528%
+ 5 smaller / regional plans	$72 - $4,450

Government programs also on file: Medicaid.

Excludes 2 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 1,700), 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 Mosaic Life Care at St Joseph 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 Mosaic Life Care at St Joseph

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

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