CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (with and without contrast)

Facility: Atrium Health Lincoln

Billing Code: 70553 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$292

about 0.8× the $356 Medicare rate · typically $292–$457

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$298

About the fair price

about $6 over the fair price · 0.8× Medicare

Medicare pays $356 Fair price $292 This hospital $298 Cash price $2,659 Hospital's list price $5,318

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NC hospitals

One of the lower prices — 5 of 8 other NC hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

Cheapest $248 Priciest $301

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 NC 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 $292 (about 0.8× the $356 Medicare rate). Atrium Health Lincoln charges insurers about $298, or about $2,659 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Lincolnton, NC.

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	$99 - $3,031	28%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$1,525 - $2,705	428%
Aetnamajor	$105 - $4,520	29%
Cignamajor	$101 - $3,590	28%
Humanamajor	$103 - $342	29%
Ambetter (Centene)	$1,740 - $1,978	488%
AmeriHealth	$99 - $661	28%
Health Net	$2,351	660%
WellCare	$99 - $661	28%
+ 13 smaller / regional plans	$98 - $4,786

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 2,659), 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 Atrium Health Lincoln 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 Atrium Health Lincoln

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

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