Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Northridge Hospital Medical Center

18300 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1417089350

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

$3,273.79

Cash price

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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.

$11,734.00

Gross charge

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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.

$449.80 with Kaiser vs $11,734.00 with US Behavioral Health — 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 →

Payer
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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
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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
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $449.80 ↓ -86%
Gold Coast Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $449.80 ↓ -86%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $449.80 ↓ -86%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $449.80 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $449.80 ↓ -86%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
United Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Central Health Plan Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
MHN Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $453.77 ↓ -86%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $567.21 ↓ -83%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $603.18 ↓ -82%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $603.18 ↓ -82%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $629.72 ↓ -81%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $629.72 ↓ -81%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|BlueShield Promise $799.00 ↓ -76%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $828.27 ↓ -75%
United Commercial|HMO $828.27 ↓ -75%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,156.09 ↓ -65%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,156.09 ↓ -65%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,156.09 ↓ -65%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Vivity $1,801.00 ↓ -45%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $1,852.89 ↓ -43%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $1,852.89 ↓ -43%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,965.00 ↓ -40%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,965.00 ↓ -40%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $2,064.58 ↓ -37%
Blue Shield CA Medicaid|All Plans $2,249.00 ↓ -31%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $2,489.00 ↓ -24%
DHR Medicaid|> 21 $2,933.50 ↓ -10%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $2,933.50 ↓ -10%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $3,410.00 ↑ +4%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $9,387.20 ↑ +187%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $10,208.58 ↑ +212%
US Behavioral Health Commercial|All Plans $11,734.00 ↑ +258%

Visitor-reported prices

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Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Fresno Medical Center FRESNO $6,837.60 $476.00 – $476.00
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $3,060.31 $453.77 – $5,449.86
Antioch Medical Center ANTIOCH $6,837.60 $476.00 – $476.00
Redwood City Medical Center Redwood City $6,837.60 $476.00 – $476.00
Santa Clara Medical Center SANTA CLARA $6,837.60 $476.00 – $476.00
Baldwin Park Medical Center BALDWIN PARK $3,224.00 $324.00 – $324.00
Riverside Medical Center RIVERSIDE $3,224.00 $324.00 – $324.00
Fremont Medical Center FREMONT $6,837.60 $476.00 – $476.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →