Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Mercy General Hospital
4001 J St., Sacramento, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1487694857
$1,736.37
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.
$7,965.00
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.
$241.35 with Hill Physicians vs $7,195.00 with Cigna — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hill Physicians | Commercial|All Plans | $241.35 | ↓ -86% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicare|All Plans | $388.57 | ↓ -78% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $442.55 | ↓ -75% |
| United | Medicaid|> 21 | $447.95 | ↓ -74% |
| United | Medicaid|< 21 | $447.95 | ↓ -74% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|HMO | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|PPO | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -73% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Imperial | $483.38 | ↓ -72% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicaid|All Plans | $492.75 | ↓ -72% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $516.23 | ↓ -70% |
| Molina | Medicaid|All Plans | $587.11 | ↓ -66% |
| Prison Healthcare | Medicaid|All Plans | $703.95 | ↓ -59% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -52% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -52% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -52% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,039.24 | ↓ -40% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,039.24 | ↓ -40% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $1,257.26 | ↓ -28% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,257.26 | ↓ -28% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,257.26 | ↓ -28% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,926.18 | ↑ +11% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $2,644.25 | ↑ +52% |
| Western Health Advantage | Commercial|All Plans | $2,787.75 | ↑ +61% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|All Plans | $3,265.65 | ↑ +88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Connection EPO | $3,300.00 | ↑ +90% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,125.00 | ↑ +138% |
| Cigna | Commercial|LocalPlus | $5,397.00 | ↑ +211% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $5,734.80 | ↑ +230% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $5,973.75 | ↑ +244% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,981.00 | ↑ +244% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $6,292.35 | ↑ +262% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $6,372.00 | ↑ +267% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $6,372.00 | ↑ +267% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $7,195.00 | ↑ +314% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento | $2,293.92 | $241.35 – $6,610.95 |
| 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 |