CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)

Facility: Bay Area Hospital

Billing Code: 72131 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$150

about 1.4× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $137–$170

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$137

About the fair price

about $13 under the fair price · 1.3× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $150 This hospital $137 Cash price $967 Hospital's list price $1,289

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other OR hospitals

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

Cheapest $51 Priciest $137

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 OR 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 CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) is about $150 (about 1.4× the $107 Medicare rate). Bay Area Hospital charges insurers about $137, or about $967 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Coos Bay, OR.

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	$2,269	2124%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$108 - $8,551	101%
Aetnamajor	$2,197	2057%
Cignamajor	$2,197	2057%
Health Net	$50 - $2,269	47%
Moda Health	$50 - $2,125	47%
PacificSource	$349 - $2,030	327%
+ 6 smaller / regional plans	$56 - $2,221

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 967), 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: 72131.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Bay Area Hospital is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 72131.
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 Bay Area Hospital

Compare: CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) at other OR hospitals

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