CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)

Facility: Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital

Billing Code: 72131 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$154

about 1.4× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $108–$591

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$108

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $46 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $154 This hospital $108 Cash price $1,543 Hospital's list price $2,806

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other WI hospitals

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

Cheapest $51 Priciest $108

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 WI 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 $154 (about 1.4× the $107 Medicare rate). Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital charges insurers about $108, or about $1,543 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Milwaukee, WI.

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	$108 - $1,621	101%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$108 - $2,620	101%
Aetnamajor	$110 - $2,003	103%
Cignamajor	$2,189 - $2,404	2049%
Humanamajor	$108	101%
Dean Health Plan	$2,245 - $2,466	2102%
Health Net	$1,084	1015%
HealthPartners	$108 - $1,911	101%
Molina	$108	101%
Priority Health	$108	101%
Quartz	$108	101%
Security Health Plan	$108 - $2,423	101%
WellCare	$110	103%
+ 15 smaller / regional plans	$108 - $2,620

Excludes 3 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 1,543), 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 Froedtert Memorial Lutheran 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 Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital

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

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