CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (no contrast)

Facility: Akron Children's Hospital

Billing Code: 70551 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$256

about 1.0× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $172–$314

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$290

About the fair price

about $34 over the fair price · 1.2× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $256 This hospital $290 Cash price $1,209 Hospital's list price $1,639

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other OH hospitals

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

Cheapest $107 Priciest $290

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, brain (no contrast) is about $256 (about 1.0× the $244 Medicare rate). Akron Children's Hospital charges insurers about $290, or about $1,209 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Akron, 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	$63 - $4,609	26%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$63 - $5,997	26%
Aetnamajor	$62 - $5,215	25%
Cignamajor	$277 - $5,154	114%
Humanamajor	$63 - $5,640	26%
AmeriHealth	$65 - $365	27%
CareSource	$63 - $348	26%
Health Net	$2,534 - $5,094	1040%
Molina	$63 - $355	26%
Paramount	$2,806 - $5,640	1151%
+ 23 smaller / regional plans	$63 - $5,761

Excludes 5 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 1,209), 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: 70551.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Akron Children's Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 70551.
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 Akron Children's Hospital

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

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