CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (with and without contrast)

Facility: Sanford Medical Center Bismarck

Billing Code: 70553 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$395

about 1.1× the $356 Medicare rate · typically $375–$466

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$368

About the fair price

about $27 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $356 Fair price $395 This hospital $368 Cash price $4,024 Hospital's list price $5,030

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 $245 Priciest $1,467

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 (with and without contrast) is about $395 (about 1.1× the $356 Medicare rate). Sanford Medical Center Bismarck charges insurers about $368, or about $4,024 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	$361 - $5,265	101%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$170 - $4,911	48%
Aetnamajor	$361 - $4,906	101%
Cignamajor	$3,748 - $5,080	1052%
Health Net	$3,748 - $5,378	1052%
HealthPartners	$361 - $4,316	101%
Medica	$2,445 - $5,104	686%
Sanford Health Plan	$327 - $5,249	92%
Security Health Plan	$2,290 - $3,287	642%
UCare	$358 - $4,960	100%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$368 - $5,378

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 4,024), 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 Sanford Medical Center Bismarck 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 Sanford Medical Center Bismarck

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

PAM Rehabilitation Hospital of Fargo · Fargo $245
Trinity Hospitals · Minot $356
Essentia Health · Fargo $357
Sanford Medical Center Fargo · Fargo $368
Altru Hospital · Grand Forks $406
CHI St Alexius Health · Bismarck $735
Sanford Hillsboro · Hillsboro $912
CHI St Alexius Health Williston · Williston $1,467

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