Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Queen of The Valley Medical Center
1000 Trancas St, Napa, CA · Providence · · NPI 1013080084
$13,848.54
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.
$27,154.00
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.
$495.35 with Aetna vs $9,257.90 with Blue Cross — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $495.35 | ↓ -96% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Select/Navigate Hmo | $610.96 | ↓ -96% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $610.96 | ↓ -96% |
| Aetna | All Commercial Plans | $2,511.83 | ↓ -82% |
| Blue Cross | Epo Exchange | $6,434.17 | ↓ -54% |
| Blue Cross | Nonmcs All Commercial Plans | $7,714.95 | ↓ -44% |
| Blue Cross | Mcs Ppo | $9,257.90 | ↓ -33% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $4,796.10 | $453.77 – $8,541.00 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $3,672.12 | $71.43 – $6,271.05 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $7,675.50 | $470.15 – $5,091.33 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $3,805.78 | $447.95 – $6,622.84 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $9,233.43 | $447.95 – $3,520.16 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $3,044.28 | $447.95 – $2,111.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,843.72 | $447.95 – $6,132.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,813.06 | $447.95 – $6,055.35 |