CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (no contrast)

Facility: Sanford Medical Center Bismarck

Billing Code: 70551 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$248

about 1.0× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $245–$306

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$249

About the fair price

about $1 over the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $248 This hospital $249 Cash price $2,944 Hospital's list price $3,680

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other ND hospitals

A typical price — 4 charge more and 3 charge less, among the 9 ND hospitals compared.

Cheapest $151 Priciest $867

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 ND 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 (no contrast) is about $248 (about 1.0× the $244 Medicare rate). Sanford Medical Center Bismarck charges insurers about $249, or about $2,944 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Bismarck, ND.

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	$244 - $3,460	100%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$109 - $3,364	45%
Aetnamajor	$244 - $3,393	100%
Cignamajor	$2,765 - $3,514	1134%
Health Net	$2,408 - $3,534	988%
HealthPartners	$244 - $3,124	100%
Medica	$1,658 - $3,694	680%
Sanford Health Plan	$201 - $3,596	82%
Security Health Plan	$1,471 - $2,160	603%
UCare	$242 - $3,431	99%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$249 - $3,534

Government programs also on file: Medicare.

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (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 2,944), 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: 70551.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Sanford Medical Center Bismarck is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70551.
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 Sanford Medical Center Bismarck

Compare: MRI, brain (no contrast) at other ND hospitals

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