CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Cheshire Medical Center

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$253

about 1.0× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $233–$279

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$253

About the fair price

1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $253 This hospital $253 Cash price $778 Hospital's list price $2,821

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NH hospitals

One of the lower prices — 7 of 8 other NH hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

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 $253 (about 1.0× the $244 Medicare rate). Cheshire Medical Center charges insurers about $253, or about $778 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Keene, 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	$73 - $3,729	30%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$73 - $3,903	30%
Aetnamajor	$70 - $3,360	29%
Cignamajor	$73 - $2,432	30%
Ambetter (Centene)	$73 - $225	30%
AmeriHealth	$89 - $601	37%
Harvard Pilgrim	$155 - $2,234	64%
MVP Health Care	$73 - $2,432	30%
Tufts Health Plan	$207 - $3,136	85%
WellCare	$73 - $253	30%
WellSense	$73 - $677	30%
+ 5 smaller / regional plans	$73 - $4,913

Excludes 2 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 778), 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 Cheshire Medical Center 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 Cheshire Medical Center

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

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