CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$266

about 1.1× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $239–$357

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$273

About the fair price

about $7 over the fair price · 1.1× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $266 This hospital $273 Cash price $996 Hospital's list price $3,255

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NH hospitals

A typical price — 5 charge more and 3 charge less, among the 9 NH hospitals compared.

Cheapest $125 Priciest $780

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 NH 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, lower back (no contrast) is about $266 (about 1.1× the $244 Medicare rate). Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital charges insurers about $273, or about $996 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Lebanon, NH.

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	$68 - $3,914	28%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$68 - $4,441	28%
Aetnamajor	$70 - $4,434	29%
Cignamajor	$70 - $3,496	29%
Ambetter (Centene)	$71 - $582	29%
AmeriHealth	$92 - $577	38%
Harvard Pilgrim	$85 - $3,269	35%
MVP Health Care	$68 - $3,414	28%
Tufts Health Plan	$227 - $2,973	93%
WellCare	$71 - $281	29%
WellSense	$54 - $622	22%
+ 7 smaller / regional plans	$68 - $4,841

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 996), 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 Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital 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 Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital

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

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