Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Wellstar MCG Health

1120 15Th Street, Augusta, GA · Wellstar Health System · · NPI 1760875330

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$1,775.67

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.

$4,553.00

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.

$209.09 with Aetna vs $955.29 with Bcbs — 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 ? 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	$209.09	↓ -88%
Bcbs	Medicare Managed Care Plan	$213.27	↓ -88%
Select Health	Medicare Managed Care Plan	$217.45	↓ -88%
Absolute Total Care	Medicare Managed Care Plan	$219.55	↓ -88%
Clover	Medicare Managed Care Plan	$223.73	↓ -87%
Molina Marketplace	Exchange	$240.45	↓ -86%
Centurion	Ga Dept. Of Corrections Medicare Managed Care Plan	$271.82	↓ -85%
The Care Network	All Commercial Plans	$313.64	↓ -82%
Cigna	Hmo	$342.35	↓ -81%
Cigna	Ppo	$342.35	↓ -81%
Oscar Healthplan	Exchange	$355.46	↓ -80%
Naphcare	All Commercial Plans	$365.91	↓ -79%
Peachstate	Ambetter Exchange	$386.82	↓ -78%
Caresource	Exchange	$409.82	↓ -77%
Unitedhealthcare	Individual Exchange Payer Appendix Exchange	$549.63	↓ -69%
Bcbs	Anthem - Copps Hmo/Pos	$590.08	↓ -67%
Unitedhealthcare	All Payer Appendix All Commercial Plans	$674.78	↓ -62%
Aetna	Hmo/Pos/Ppo	$730.45	↓ -59%
Bcbs	Anthem - Copps Ppo	$760.69	↓ -57%
Bcbs	Hie/Pathways Exchange	$955.29	↓ -46%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other Georgia hospitals

Hospital	City	Cash price	Negotiated range
Wellstar Cobb Hospital	Austell	$1,775.67	$242.35 – $448.35
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital	Marietta	$1,775.67	$242.35 – $448.35
Wellstar Douglas Hospital	Douglasville	$1,775.67	$240.17 – $444.32
Wellstar Paulding Hospital	Hiram	$1,775.67	$242.35 – $448.35
Wellstar North Fulton Hospital	Roswell	$1,775.67	$242.35 – $448.35
Wellstar Roosevelt Long Term Acute Care at Warm Springs	P O Box 280	$1,775.67	not published
Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital	Griffin	$1,775.67	$239.32 – $469.07
Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital	Jackson	$1,775.67	$342.35 – $730.45

All Georgia hospitals for this procedure →