CMS Price Transparency Data

MRI, brain (no contrast)

Facility: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

Billing Code: 70551 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$189

about 0.8× the $244 Medicare rate · typically $189–$204

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$189

About the fair price

0.8× Medicare

Medicare pays $244 Fair price $189 This hospital $189 Cash price $2,364 Hospital's list price $3,377

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other VT hospitals

A typical price — 4 charge more and 3 charge less, among the 8 VT hospitals compared.

Cheapest $81 Priciest $2,029

Black dot = this hospital, among the 8 VT 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 $189 (about 0.8× the $244 Medicare rate). Brattleboro Memorial Hospital charges insurers about $189, or about $2,364 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Brattleboro, VT.

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	$162 - $3,208	66%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$66 - $3,040	27%
Aetnamajor	$3,276	1344%
Cignamajor	$66 - $3,208	27%
Humanamajor	$232	95%
AmeriHealth	$58 - $187	24%
Harvard Pilgrim	$66 - $2,938	27%
MVP Health Care	$66 - $3,040	27%
Tufts Health Plan	$175 - $3,089	72%
WellCare	$69 - $243	28%
WellSense	$58 - $248	24%
+ 4 smaller / regional plans	$58 - $3,276

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 2,364), 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 Brattleboro Memorial 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 Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

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

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