CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Sanford Hillsboro

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$913

about 3.7× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $250–$1,898

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$867

About the fair price

about $46 under the fair price · 3.6× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $913 This hospital $867 Cash price $2,202 Hospital's list price $2,753

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other ND hospitals

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

Cheapest $147 Priciest $867

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

A fair price for a MRI, lower back (no contrast) is about $913 (about 3.7× the $244 Medicare rate). Sanford Hillsboro charges insurers about $867, or about $2,202 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Hillsboro, ND.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

3 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna CignaHumanaKaiser 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	$1,360 - $2,299	558%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$578 - $1,787	237%
Aetnamajor	$1,360 - $2,392	558%
Health Net	$2,478	1017%
HealthPartners	$1,360 - $2,147	558%
Medica	$2,271 - $2,428	932%
Sanford Health Plan	$1,255 - $2,557	515%
Security Health Plan	$1,514	621%
UCare	$1,349 - $2,419	553%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$1,388 - $2,478

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 2,202), 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 Sanford Hillsboro 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 Sanford Hillsboro

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

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