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

1001 SAINT JOSEPH LANE, London, KY · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1992701429

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

$1,345.99

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.

$3,772.00

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.

$218.98 with Humana vs $2,836.47 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
Humana Medicare|All Plans $218.98 ↓ -84%
Wellcare Medicare|All Plans $218.98 ↓ -84%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $218.98 ↓ -84%
United Medicare|All Plans $223.36 ↓ -83%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $225.55 ↓ -83%
Passport by Molina Medicare|All Plans $229.93 ↓ -83%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $427.06 ↓ -68%
CareSource Commercial|All Plans $437.96 ↓ -67%
Passport by Molina Medicaid|All Plans $445.11 ↓ -67%
Wellcare Medicaid|All Plans $523.66 ↓ -61%
Aetna Medicaid|Better Health $654.57 ↓ -51%
Humana Medicaid|All Plans $654.57 ↓ -51%
United Medicaid|All Plans $667.67 ↓ -50%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $687.30 ↓ -49%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Pathway $1,068.00 ↓ -21%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|HMO PPO $1,262.00 ↓ -6%
United Commercial|Options $2,026.00 ↑ +51%
United Commercial|Non-Options $2,026.00 ↑ +51%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $2,836.47 ↑ +111%

Visitor-reported prices

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
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 East Lexington $870.84 $427.06 – $1,797.25
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Hospital Lexington $1,021.31 $394.40 – $1,527.89
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 →