CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, head (with and without contrast)

Facility: Merit Health River Oaks

Billing Code: 70470 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$183

about 1.0× the $179 Medicare rate · typically $170–$294

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$186

About the fair price

about $3 over the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $179 Fair price $183 This hospital $186 Cash price $530 Hospital's list price $2,918

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MS hospitals

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

Cheapest $63 Priciest $186

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

A fair price for a CT scan, head (with and without contrast) is about $183 (about 1.0× the $179 Medicare rate). Merit Health River Oaks charges insurers about $186, or about $530 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Flowood, MS.

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	$28 - $1,531	16%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$835	466%
Aetnamajor	$54 - $2,981	30%
Cignamajor	$21 - $1,141	12%
Humanamajor	$156	87%
CareSource	$138	77%
Devoted Health	$159	89%
Molina	$147 - $281	82%
WellCare	$162	90%
+ 26 smaller / regional plans	$31 - $5,733

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

Excludes 7 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 530), 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: 70470.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Merit Health River Oaks is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70470.
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 Merit Health River Oaks

Compare: CT scan, head (with and without contrast) at other MS hospitals

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