Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at Glendale Memorial Hospital Health Center

1420 S Central Ave, Glendale, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1477610640

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$3,735.96

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$11,460.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$380.88 with Health Net vs $9,168.00 with MultiPlan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Health Net Medicaid|Preferred IPA $380.88 ↓ -90%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $380.88 ↓ -90%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $380.88 ↓ -90%
MHN Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $453.77 ↓ -88%
DHR Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
Care 1st Medicare|All Other Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
United Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
CareMore Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
US Behavioral Health Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $462.38 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $466.96 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $466.96 ↓ -88%
HPN Medicaid|< 21 $468.48 ↓ -87%
HPN Medicaid|> 21 $468.48 ↓ -87%
Health Net Medicaid|Alhambra < 21 $495.15 ↓ -87%
Health Net Medicaid|Alhambra > 21 $495.15 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Alhambra Senior $521.84 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $533.23 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|HCLA $567.21 ↓ -85%
Health Net Commercial|HCLA $567.21 ↓ -85%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Alhambra $567.21 ↓ -85%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $567.21 ↓ -85%
HCLA Commercial|All Other Plans $567.21 ↓ -85%
HCLA Commercial|Preferred IPA $567.21 ↓ -85%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $571.32 ↓ -85%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $571.32 ↓ -85%
Care 1st Medicare|BlueShield Promise $725.00 ↓ -81%
United Commercial|PPO $828.27 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|Navigate $828.27 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|Options PPO $828.27 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|HMO $828.27 ↓ -78%
Healthcare Partners Medicare|All Plans $1,184.00 ↓ -68%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $1,223.28 ↓ -67%
Healthcare Partners Commercial|All Plans $1,342.00 ↓ -64%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,414.37 ↓ -62%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,414.37 ↓ -62%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,414.37 ↓ -62%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $1,497.00 ↓ -60%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $1,611.12 ↓ -57%
Care 1st Medicaid|All Plans $1,904.40 ↓ -49%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,922.00 ↓ -49%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,922.00 ↓ -49%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $1,976.00 ↓ -47%
Health Net Medicaid|DHR $2,865.00 ↓ -23%
HPN Medicare|All Plans $5,271.60 ↑ +41%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $6,417.60 ↑ +72%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Magellan $6,876.00 ↑ +84%
SCAN Medicare|All Plans $7,105.20 ↑ +90%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $7,449.00 ↑ +99%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $9,168.00 ↑ +145%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $2,693.70 $453.77 – $4,797.00
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $3,060.38 $71.43 – $5,226.36
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $6,185.79 $470.15 – $3,102.10
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $2,918.11 $380.88 – $5,519.36
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $8,313.68 $380.88 – $3,150.70
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,556.24 $380.88 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2,469.01 $380.88 – $5,324.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $2,442.39 $380.88 – $5,257.45

All California hospitals for this procedure →