CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Palisades Medical Center

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$377

about 1.5× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $288–$421

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$394

About the fair price

about $17 over the fair price · 1.6× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $377 This hospital $394 Cash price $285 Hospital's list price $4,439

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NJ hospitals

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

Cheapest $217 Priciest $394

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

A fair price for a MRI, lower back (no contrast) is about $377 (about 1.5× the $244 Medicare rate). Palisades Medical Center charges insurers about $394, or about $285 in cash — about the fair price. Located in North Bergen, NJ.

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	$299 - $560	123%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$285	117%
Aetnamajor	$310 - $759	127%
Cignamajor	$394	162%
Amerigroup	$285	117%
AmeriHealth	$945 - $946	388%
Clover Health	$799	328%
WellCare	$285	117%
+ 8 smaller / regional plans	$128 - $4,332

Government programs also on file: Military & VA.

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 285), 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 Palisades 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 Palisades Medical Center

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

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