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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Banner University Medical Center South
2800 East Ajo Way, Tucson, AZ · Banner Health · · NPI 1558759498
$607.46
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.
$4,434.00
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.
$266.89 with Banner University Health Plan vs $3,547.20 with Arizona Medical Network — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner University Health Plan | AZ Medicaid - AHCCCS | $266.89 | ↓ -56% |
| Banner University Health Plan | University Family Plan | $266.89 | ↓ -56% |
| Health Net | Medicaid | $266.89 | ↓ -56% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | Medicaid | $266.89 | ↓ -56% |
| Arizona Physicians IPA | Medicaid | $266.89 | ↓ -56% |
| Mercy Care | Medicaid | $266.89 | ↓ -56% |
| UPMC Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Gila River Health Care Corporation | Managed Care Program | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp - VA CCN | VA Community Care Network | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | PPO Medicare Advantage Plan | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Banner University Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Health Net | Medicare | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Wellpoint | Medicare Advantage HMO | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Mercy Care | Mercy Care Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Arizona Physicians IPA | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Banner Health | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | HMO Medicare Advantage Plan | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Care 1st | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $380.64 | ↓ -37% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $392.06 | ↓ -35% |
| Carelon | Medicare Advantage | $399.67 | ↓ -34% |
| Devoted Health Services | Medicare Advantage | $399.67 | ↓ -34% |
| Gold Kidney Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $418.70 | ↓ -31% |
| Arizona Priority Care | Alignment Health Plans Medicare Advantage/Eternal Health Plan Medicare/SCAN Health Plan Medicare | $418.70 | ↓ -31% |
| Aetna | Banner Employee Plans | $462.76 | ↓ -24% |
| NaphCare | Federal | $513.86 | ↓ -15% |
| Aetna | Qualified Health Plan | $517.67 | ↓ -15% |
| United Healthcare | Individual Exchange | $532.90 | ↓ -12% |
| Health Net | Commerical Exchange Product | $563.35 | ↓ -7% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | ACA Health Plan | $570.96 | ↓ -6% |
| Oscar Health Plan | Commercial | $628.06 | ↑ +3% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Medicare Supplemental Senior Preferred | $708.60 | ↑ +17% |
| Aetna | Joint Venture | $990.00 | ↑ +63% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BXBSAZ Neighborhood | $1,006.05 | ↑ +66% |
| Aetna | Designated Group | $1,052.00 | ↑ +73% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ Alliance/Blue HPN | $1,073.12 | ↑ +77% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BXBSAZ Alliance CHS | $1,126.77 | ↑ +85% |
| Aetna | Broad Network | $1,238.00 | ↑ +104% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | Commerical/HMO Benefit Plan/Local Flex Plan/Network Benefit Plan/Open Access Plan | $1,269.00 | ↑ +109% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Commercial | $1,341.40 | ↑ +121% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ Workers Comp | $1,341.40 | ↑ +121% |
| University of Arizona (Kasser Medical Treatment Center) | Commerical | $1,551.90 | ↑ +155% |
| United Healthcare | Commercial | $1,863.61 | ↑ +207% |
| National Healthcare Solutions Inc (NHSI) and VIP Universal Medical Insurance Group (VUMI) | NHSI VUMI | $1,995.30 | ↑ +228% |
| Plotkin Health | Plotkin Health | $1,995.30 | ↑ +228% |
| Aetna | Medical Rental | $2,336.72 | ↑ +285% |
| Quiktrip Corporation | Commercial | $2,394.36 | ↑ +294% |
| Provider Network of America | Commercial | $3,325.50 | ↑ +447% |
| Arizona Medical Network | Commercial | $3,547.20 | ↑ +484% |
| TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp - VA CCN | Tricare | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Arizona hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson | Tucson | $793.69 | $266.89 – $3,547.20 |
| Banner University Medical Center Phoenix | Phoenix | $522.14 | $266.89 – $2,719.50 |
| Banner Baywood Medical Center | Mesa | $456.88 | $266.89 – $2,719.50 |
| Banner Boswell Medical Center | Sun City | $420.62 | $266.89 – $2,900.80 |
| Banner Casa Grande Medical Center | Casa Grande | $478.63 | $266.89 – $2,719.50 |
| Banner Del Webb Medical Center | Sun City West | $453.25 | $266.89 – $2,900.80 |
| Banner Estrella Medical Center | Phoenix | $464.13 | $266.89 – $2,719.50 |
| Banner Desert Medical Center | Mesa | $688.94 | $266.89 – $2,719.50 |