CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, lower back (no contrast)

Facility: HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast

Billing Code: 72148 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$330

about 1.4× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $221–$722

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$217

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $113 under the fair price · 0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $330 This hospital $217 Cash price $17,959 Hospital's list price $17,959

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other TX hospitals

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

Cheapest $69 Priciest $217

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 TX 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 $330 (about 1.4× the $244 Medicare rate). HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast charges insurers about $217, or about $17,959 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Pasadena, TX.

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	$203 - $8,081	83%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$501 - $6,286	206%
Aetnamajor	$215 - $2,168	88%
Cignamajor	$2,127 - $14,367	873%
Humanamajor	$246 - $2,640	101%
Amerigroup	$197	81%
Fidelis Care	$8,081	3315%
Health Net	$193	79%
Molina	$217	89%
+ 11 smaller / regional plans	$197 - $15,265

Government programs also on file: Medicaid.

Excludes 7 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 17,959), 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 HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast 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 HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast

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

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