CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Mountain View Regional Medical Center

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$320

about 1.3× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $260–$352

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$352

About the fair price

about $32 over the fair price · 1.4× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $320 This hospital $352 Cash price $3,765 Hospital's list price $10,039

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other NM hospitals

A typical price — 4 charge more and 4 charge less, among the 9 NM hospitals compared.

Cheapest $230 Priciest $444

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 NM 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 $320 (about 1.3× the $244 Medicare rate). Mountain View Regional Medical Center charges insurers about $352, or about $3,765 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Las Cruces, NM.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

5 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana Kaiser 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	$239 - $5,160	98%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$239 - $7,529	98%
Aetnamajor	$244 - $8,031	100%
Cignamajor	$747	306%
Humanamajor	$244	100%
Amerigroup	$244	100%
Devoted Health	$244	100%
Molina	$232 - $445	95%
Presbyterian	$232 - $8,031	95%
+ 3 smaller / regional plans	$244 - $295

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid, Military & VA.

Excludes 7 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 3,765), 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 Mountain View Regional 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 Mountain View Regional Medical Center

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

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