CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (with and without contrast)

Facility: Southern Ocean Medical Center

Billing Code: 70553 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$604

about 1.7× the $356 Medicare rate · typically $437–$692

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$686

About the fair price

about $82 over the fair price · 1.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $356 Fair price $604 This hospital $686 Cash price $390 Hospital's list price $5,631

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 $360 Priciest $686

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

A fair price for a MRI, brain (with and without contrast) is about $604 (about 1.7× the $356 Medicare rate). Southern Ocean Medical Center charges insurers about $686, or about $390 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Manahawkin, 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	$410 - $951	115%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$390	109%
Aetnamajor	$425 - $4,409	119%
Cignamajor	$686 - $4,505	192%
AmeriHealth	$1,532 - $1,558	430%
Clover Health	$1,014	284%
WellCare	$390	109%
+ 7 smaller / regional plans	$191 - $5,148

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 390), 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: 70553.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Southern Ocean Medical Center is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70553.
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 Southern Ocean Medical Center

Compare: MRI, brain (with and without contrast) at other NJ hospitals

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