Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Mark Twain Medical Center

768 Mountain Ranch Rd, San Andreas, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1508968819

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

$9,233.43

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.

$13,864.00

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.

$447.95 with BCBS - Anthem vs $3,520.16 with Multiplan — 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
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $447.95 ↓ -95%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $447.95 ↓ -95%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $447.95 ↓ -95%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $447.95 ↓ -95%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|All Plans $447.95 ↓ -95%
Care 1st Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
United Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $929.26 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $2,204.77 ↓ -76%
United Commercial|Select $2,438.97 ↓ -74%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $2,597.02 ↓ -72%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|PPO $2,597.02 ↓ -72%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|HMO $2,597.02 ↓ -72%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $2,694.00 ↓ -71%
United Commercial|Choice $2,794.58 ↓ -70%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $2,826.55 ↓ -69%
Health Net Commercial|All Plans $2,887.97 ↓ -69%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,934.67 ↓ -68%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $2,934.67 ↓ -68%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $2,934.67 ↓ -68%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $3,053.20 ↓ -67%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $3,214.84 ↓ -65%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,214.84 ↓ -65%
United Commercial|HMO $3,297.46 ↓ -64%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $3,520.16 ↓ -62%

Visitor-reported prices

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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
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
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $13,848.54 $495.35 – $6,434.17

All California hospitals for this procedure →