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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Waldo County General Hospital
118 Northport Ave, Belfast, ME · MaineHealth · · NPI 1841397932
$3,382.30
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.
$3,382.30
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.
$107.81 with Aetna vs $3,186.13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | MHACO Government | $107.81 | ↓ -97% |
| Anthem | Medicare Advantage | $107.81 | ↓ -97% |
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $123.98 | ↓ -96% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $123.98 | ↓ -96% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $123.98 | ↓ -96% |
| Wellcare | Medicare Advantage | $128.94 | ↓ -96% |
| Aetna | HMO/PPO | $146.32 | ↓ -96% |
| Multiplan | Commercial | $196.54 | ↓ -94% |
| Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare | Commercial | $206.87 | ↓ -94% |
| Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare | Maine's Choice | $206.87 | ↓ -94% |
| United Healthcare | Commercial | $206.88 | ↓ -94% |
| Aetna | MHACO Commercial | $214.93 | ↓ -94% |
| Community Health Options | Commercial | $220.29 | ↓ -93% |
| Anthem | HMO/POS/PPO Pathway Enhanced | $279.95 | ↓ -92% |
| Cigna | Commercial | $3,186.13 | ↓ -6% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Maine hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Memorial Hospital | Farmington | $3,956.45 | $107.81 – $3,311.55 |
| Stephens Memorial Hospital | Norway | $3,301.70 | $107.81 – $3,077.18 |
| Lincoln Health | Damariscotta | $3,347.25 | $107.81 – $3,039.30 |
| Pen Bay Medical Center | Rockport | $2,183.30 | $105.04 – $1,655.87 |
| Mid Coast Hospital | Brunswick | $2,183.30 | $104.00 – $943.20 |
| Spring Harbor Hospital | Westbrook | not published | $104.00 – $220.00 |