CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)

Facility: Great Plains Health

Billing Code: 72131 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$441

about 4.1× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $344–$771

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$443

About the fair price

about $2 over the fair price · 4.1× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $441 This hospital $443 Cash price $740 Hospital's list price $1,320

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NE hospitals

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

Cheapest $88 Priciest $443

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

A fair price for a CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) is about $441 (about 4.1× the $107 Medicare rate). Great Plains Health charges insurers about $443, or about $740 in cash — about the fair price. Located in North Platte, NE.

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	$362 - $2,176	339%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$94 - $2,028	88%
Aetnamajor	$164 - $2,176	154%
Ambetter (Centene)	$101 - $524	95%
GEHA	$164 - $2,154	154%
Medica	$118 - $2,108	110%
Molina	$52 - $126	49%
Oscar Health	$162 - $2,131	152%
+ 3 smaller / regional plans	$48 - $2,176

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 740), 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: 72131.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Great Plains Health is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 72131.
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 Great Plains Health

Compare: CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) at other NE hospitals

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