Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph East

150 North Eagle Creek Drive, Lexington, KY · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1447457775

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

$870.84

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.

$2,168.00

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.

$237.49 with Humana vs $1,797.25 with Multiplan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Humana Medicare|All Plans $237.49 ↓ -73%
Wellcare Medicare|All Plans $237.49 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $237.49 ↓ -73%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $244.61 ↓ -72%
United Medicare|All Plans $246.99 ↓ -72%
Passport by Molina Medicare|All Plans $249.36 ↓ -71%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $427.06 ↓ -51%
CareSource Commercial|All Plans $474.98 ↓ -45%
Passport by Molina Medicaid|All Plans $482.69 ↓ -45%
Wellcare Medicaid|All Plans $503.23 ↓ -42%
Humana Medicaid|All Plans $508.37 ↓ -42%
Aetna Medicaid|Better Health $513.50 ↓ -41%
United Medicaid|Community Plan $523.77 ↓ -40%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $539.18 ↓ -38%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Pathway $567.00 ↓ -35%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|HMO PPO $590.00 ↓ -32%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,244.25 ↑ +43%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,244.25 ↑ +43%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,244.25 ↑ +43%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,264.00 ↑ +45%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,264.00 ↑ +45%
United Commercial|Non-Options $1,530.00 ↑ +76%
United Commercial|Options PPO $1,639.25 ↑ +88%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $1,797.25 ↑ +106%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Hospital Lexington $1,021.31 $394.40 – $1,527.89
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Berea Berea $933.26 $367.50 – $1,212.12
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Mount Sterling Mt. Sterling $1,097.25 $517.81 – $2,251.34
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph London London $1,345.99 $427.06 – $2,836.47
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown $1,339.88 $427.06 – $2,860.13
Adventhealth Manchester Manchester $4,902.71 $223.88 – $223.88

All Kentucky hospitals for this procedure →