CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: Union Hospital

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$157

about 0.6× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $144–$181

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$176

About the fair price

about $19 over the fair price · 0.7× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $157 This hospital $176 Cash price $983 Hospital's list price $1,513

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other OH hospitals

One of the lower prices — 6 of 8 other OH hospitals charge more for the same procedure.

Cheapest $101 Priciest $223

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 OH 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 $157 (about 0.6× the $244 Medicare rate). Union Hospital charges insurers about $176, or about $983 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Dover, OH.

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	$66 - $747	27%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$66 - $806	27%
Aetnamajor	$66 - $2,046	27%
Cignamajor	$66 - $681	27%
Humanamajor	$66 - $223	27%
AmeriHealth	$207 - $246	85%
CareSource	$198 - $224	81%
Devoted Health	$223	91%
Molina	$188 - $235	77%
Oscar Health	$142 - $582	58%
UniCare	$69 - $235	28%
UPMC Health Plan	$223 - $1,228	91%
+ 18 smaller / regional plans	$43 - $1,534

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 983), 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 Union 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 Union Hospital

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

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