CMS Price Transparency Data

CT scan, lower back (lumbar spine)

Facility: Preston Memorial Hospital

Billing Code: 72131 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price medium confidence

A fair price for this

$287

about 2.7× the $107 Medicare rate · typically $104–$650

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

Medicare pays $107 Fair price $287 Cash price $972 Hospital's list price $1,944

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

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	$1,166 - $1,749	1092%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$1,414 - $1,722	1324%
Aetnamajor	$1,166 - $1,749	1092%
Cignamajor	$1,788	1674%
Humanamajor	$1,166	1092%
GEHA	$1,846	1728%
UniCare	$103	96%
UPMC Health Plan	$1,224	1146%
+ 3 smaller / regional plans	$1,166 - $1,885

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 972), 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 Preston Memorial 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 Preston Memorial Hospital

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

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