CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, knee or other leg joint

Facility: Erlanger Medical Center

Billing Code: 73721 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$281

about 1.2× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $254–$406

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$278

About the fair price

about $3 under the fair price · 1.1× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $281 This hospital $278 Cash price $330 Hospital's list price $625

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other TN hospitals

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

Cheapest $60 Priciest $278

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

A fair price for a MRI, knee or other leg joint is about $281 (about 1.2× the $244 Medicare rate). Erlanger Medical Center charges insurers about $278, or about $330 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Chattanooga, TN.

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	$52 - $524	21%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$193 - $2,186	79%
Aetnamajor	$123 - $1,339	50%
Cignamajor	$67 - $1,230	27%
Humanamajor	$82 - $800	34%
Ambetter (Centene)	$277 - $356	114%
Amerigroup	$60 - $604	25%
CareSource	$62 - $718	25%
Clover Health	$222 - $285	91%
Devoted Health	$74 - $296	30%
UPMC Health Plan	$222 - $285	91%
+ 11 smaller / regional plans	$69 - $2,050

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid.

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 330), 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: 73721.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Erlanger Medical Center is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 73721.
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 Erlanger Medical Center

Compare: MRI, knee or other leg joint at other TN hospitals

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