CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)

Facility: Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center

Billing Code: 72131 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$119

about 1.1× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $103–$265

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$104

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $15 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $119 This hospital $104 Cash price $154 Hospital's list price $532

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other PA hospitals

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

Cheapest $83 Priciest $106

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

A fair price for a CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine) is about $119 (about 1.1× the $107 Medicare rate). Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center charges insurers about $104, or about $154 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Lancaster, PA.

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	$103 - $286	96%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$87 - $448	81%
Aetnamajor	$104 - $301	97%
Cignamajor	$350	328%
Humanamajor	$104	97%
AmeriHealth	$87 - $103	81%
Cigna HealthSpring	$104	97%
Geisinger	$92 - $355	86%
HealthPartners	$95 - $105	89%
UPMC Health Plan	$105 - $393	98%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$96 - $128

Excludes 2 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 154), 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 Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center 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 Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center

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

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