Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at United Hospital
333 Smith Ave N. St. Paul, MN | 1175 Nininger Road. Hastings, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1457319485
$647.76
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.
$1,349.50
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.
$157.77 with blue cross blue shield of minnesota vs $1,379.00 with united healthcare (um) — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc pmap (amu) | $157.77 | ↓ -76% |
| ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) | ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) | $271.52 | ↓ -58% |
| medica pmap (um) | medica pmap (um) | $299.59 | ↓ -54% |
| health partners | hpi medicare (amu) | $325.21 | ↓ -50% |
| all other medicaid | all other medicaid (u) | $332.39 | ↓ -49% |
| medicaid | medicaid ma (u) | $332.39 | ↓ -49% |
| allina aetna medicare (u) | allina aetna medicare (u) | $341.56 | ↓ -47% |
| south country health alliance | scha pmap (u) | $342.36 | ↓ -47% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc state health plan (mu) | $355.22 | ↓ -45% |
| health partners | hpi pmap (amu) | $355.32 | ↓ -45% |
| medicare | medicare (u) | $359.54 | ↓ -44% |
| medicare other | all other medicare (u) | $359.54 | ↓ -44% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc premier (m u) | $377.04 | ↓ -42% |
| medica | medica medicare (u) | $377.52 | ↓ -42% |
| bcbs | bc medicare (u) | $377.52 | ↓ -42% |
| blue cross | allina health blueprint (mu) | $405.95 | ↓ -37% |
| uhc ubh pmap | uhc ubh pmap (u) | $415.49 | ↓ -36% |
| health partners | hpi (u m) | $417.03 | ↓ -36% |
| bcbs | bc aehp (mu) | $443.52 | ↓ -32% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc high value/performance network (mu) | $476.11 | ↓ -26% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc aware/blue plus (m u) | $501.16 | ↓ -23% |
| medica dual solutions (a u) | medica dual solutions (a u) | $654.00 | ↑ +1% |
| aetna | aetna elevate (amu) | $735.00 | ↑ +13% |
| aetna | aetna performance (amu) | $788.00 | ↑ +22% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (mu) | $894.08 | ↑ +38% |
| americas ppo (araz)(a m u) | americas ppo (araz)(a m u) | $903.09 | ↑ +39% |
| medica health system | medica elect (u m) | $943.00 | ↑ +46% |
| medica ubh (u) | medica ubh (u) | $944.65 | ↑ +46% |
| medica | medica essentials (u m) | $984.00 | ↑ +52% |
| medica mhps | medica mhps (u m) | $984.00 | ↑ +52% |
| americas ppo (araz) | americas ppo (araz) (a c m u) | $998.63 | ↑ +54% |
| medica health system | medica choice (u m) | $1,036.00 | ↑ +60% |
| medica ubh pmap | medica ubh pmap (u) | $1,079.60 | ↑ +67% |
| first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) | first health (abdmnosurv) | $1,133.58 | ↑ +75% |
| aetna direct network | aetna direct network (amu) | $1,136.00 | ↑ +75% |
| all other contracted care (a b c d e g h n o r s u) | all other contracted care (a b c d m h n o r s u v) | $1,349.50 | ↑ +108% |
| united healthcare (um) | united healthcare (um) | $1,379.00 | ↑ +113% |
Visitor-reported prices
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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at other Minnesota hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Canby Medical Center | Canby | $2,637.60 | $374.99 – $2,967.30 |
| Sanford Westbrook Hospital | Westbrook | $2,769.60 | $374.99 – $3,115.80 |
| Sanford Bagley Medical Center | Bagley | $2,434.40 | $374.99 – $2,738.70 |
| Sanford Wheaton | Wheaton | $2,468.80 | $374.99 – $2,777.40 |
| Sanford Luverne Medical Center | Luverne | $2,661.60 | $374.99 – $2,994.30 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | Bemidji | $2,434.40 | $277.45 – $2,738.70 |
| Sanford Worthington Medical Center | Worthington | $2,185.60 | $283.44 – $2,458.80 |
| Sanford Tracy Hospital | Tracy | $2,769.60 | $374.99 – $3,115.80 |