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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
5555 West Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ · Banner Health · · NPI 1154355188
$420.56
Cash price Discounted cash price What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge. Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$2,417.00
Gross charge Gross charge (chargemaster price) The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this. Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$72.99 with Mercy Care vs $1,812.75 with Provider Network of America — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →Payer ?Payer The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on. Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509. Full explanation → |
Plan ?Plan The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates. Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible. Full explanation → |
Negotiated rate | vs. cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Care | Mercy Care Advantage/Mercy Care Plan | $72.99 | ↓ -83% |
| Banner University Health Plan | AZ Medicaid - AHCCCS | $166.84 | ↓ -60% |
| Banner University Health Plan | University Family Plan | $166.84 | ↓ -60% |
| Health Net | Medicaid | $166.84 | ↓ -60% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | Medicaid | $166.84 | ↓ -60% |
| Arizona Physicians IPA | Medicaid | $166.84 | ↓ -60% |
| Mercy Care | Medicaid | $166.84 | ↓ -60% |
| UPMC Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Gila River Health Care Corporation | Managed Care Program | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp - VA CCN | VA Community Care Network | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | PPO Medicare Advantage Plan | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Banner University Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Wellpoint | Medicare Advantage HMO | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Mercy Care | Mercy Care Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Arizona Physicians IPA | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Banner Health | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | HMO Medicare Advantage Plan | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Care 1st | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $257.63 | ↓ -39% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Medicare Supplemental Senior Preferred | $263.62 | ↓ -37% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $265.36 | ↓ -37% |
| Carelon | Medicare Advantage | $270.51 | ↓ -36% |
| Devoted Health Services | Medicare Advantage | $270.51 | ↓ -36% |
| Gold Kidney Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $283.39 | ↓ -33% |
| Arizona Priority Care | Alignment Health Plans Medicare Advantage/Eternal Health Plan Medicare/SCAN Health Plan Medicare | $283.39 | ↓ -33% |
| Aetna | Qualified Health Plan | $350.38 | ↓ -17% |
| United Healthcare | Individual Exchange | $360.68 | ↓ -14% |
| Health Net | Commerical Exchange Product | $381.29 | ↓ -9% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | ACA Health Plan | $386.44 | ↓ -8% |
| Oscar Health Plan | Commercial | $425.09 | ↑ +1% |
| Aetna | Banner Employee Plans | $487.00 | ↑ +16% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BXBSAZ Neighborhood | $677.60 | ↑ +61% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ MaricopaFocus | $677.60 | ↑ +61% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ Alliance/Blue HPN | $722.77 | ↑ +72% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BXBSAZ Alliance CHS | $758.90 | ↑ +80% |
| Hospice of the Valley | Medicare | $845.95 | ↑ +101% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Commercial | $903.46 | ↑ +115% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ Workers Comp | $903.46 | ↑ +115% |
| Aetna | Joint Venture | $990.00 | ↑ +135% |
| Aetna | Designated Group | $1,052.00 | ↑ +150% |
| National Healthcare Solutions Inc (NHSI) and VIP Universal Medical Insurance Group (VUMI) | NHSI VUMI | $1,087.65 | ↑ +159% |
| Plotkin Health | Plotkin Health | $1,087.65 | ↑ +159% |
| Aetna | Broad Network | $1,238.00 | ↑ +194% |
| Aetna | Medical Rental | $1,273.76 | ↑ +203% |
| Quiktrip Corporation | Commercial | $1,305.18 | ↑ +210% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | LocalFlex | $1,346.00 | ↑ +220% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | Commercial | $1,496.00 | ↑ +256% |
| Arizona Medical Network | Commercial | $1,691.90 | ↑ +302% |
| Provider Network of America | Commercial | $1,812.75 | ↑ +331% |
| TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp - VA CCN | Tricare | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other Arizona hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner University Medical Center Phoenix | Phoenix | $348.05 | $166.84 – $1,812.75 |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson | Tucson | $529.12 | $166.84 – $2,364.80 |
| Banner University Medical Center South | Tucson | $404.97 | $166.84 – $2,364.80 |
| Banner Baywood Medical Center | Mesa | $304.54 | $166.84 – $1,812.75 |
| Banner Boswell Medical Center | Sun City | $280.37 | $166.84 – $1,933.60 |
| Banner Casa Grande Medical Center | Casa Grande | $319.04 | $166.84 – $1,812.75 |
| Banner Del Webb Medical Center | Sun City West | $302.12 | $166.84 – $1,933.60 |
| Banner Estrella Medical Center | Phoenix | $309.38 | $166.84 – $1,812.75 |