Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Abbott Northwestern Hospital

800 E 28th Street. Minneapolis, MN 55407, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1760446256

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jun 16, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$547.30

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$1,140.20

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.

$172.07 with ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) vs $1,869.00 with united healthcare (a) — 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
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $172.07 ↓ -69%
medica health system medica pmap (a) $189.85 ↓ -65%
health partners hpi medicare (amu) $220.12 ↓ -60%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc pmap (amu) $220.80 ↓ -60%
medicaid medicaid ma (a) $227.33 ↓ -58%
all other medicaid all other medicaid (a) $227.33 ↓ -58%
allina aetna medicare (a) allina aetna medicare (a) $233.60 ↓ -57%
health partners hpi pmap (amu) $240.50 ↓ -56%
medicare other all other medicare (a) $245.90 ↓ -55%
medicare medicare (a) $245.90 ↓ -55%
bcbs bc medicare (a) $258.19 ↓ -53%
medica medica medicare (a) $258.19 ↓ -53%
hennepin health hennepin health (a) $259.16 ↓ -53%
uhc ubh pmap uhc ubh pmap (a) $284.16 ↓ -48%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc state health plan (a) $497.16 ↓ -9%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (a) $527.69 ↓ -4%
health partners hpi (a) $555.18 ↑ +1%
americas ppo (araz)(a m u) americas ppo (araz)(a m u) $572.30 ↑ +5%
medica ubh (a) medica ubh (a) $598.64 ↑ +9%
hpi-cigna hpi cigna (a) $605.14 ↑ +11%
bcbs bc aehp (a) $620.74 ↑ +13%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc high value/performance network (a) $666.35 ↑ +22%
medica ubh pmap medica ubh pmap (a) $684.16 ↑ +25%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $718.37 ↑ +31%
medica dual solutions (a u) medica dual solutions (a u) $855.00 ↑ +56%
medica health system medica elect (a) $860.00 ↑ +57%
medica medica essentials (a) $864.00 ↑ +58%
medica mhps medica mhps (a) $898.00 ↑ +64%
medica health system medica choice (a) $945.00 ↑ +73%
aetna aetna elevate (amu) $958.00 ↑ +75%
aetna aetna performance (amu) $1,026.00 ↑ +87%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc aware/blue plus (a m u) $1,201.56 ↑ +120%
aetna direct network aetna direct network (amu) $1,474.00 ↑ +169%
united healthcare (a) united healthcare (a) $1,869.00 ↑ +241%

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Canby Medical Center Canby $3,237.60 $253.81 – $3,642.30
Sanford Westbrook Hospital Westbrook $3,189.60 $253.81 – $3,588.30
Sanford Bagley Medical Center Bagley $2,872.80 $253.81 – $3,231.90
Sanford Wheaton Wheaton $2,809.60 $253.81 – $3,160.80
Sanford Luverne Medical Center Luverne $2,875.20 $253.81 – $3,234.60
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji $2,872.80 $176.78 – $3,231.90
Sanford Worthington Medical Center Worthington $3,168.80 $180.60 – $3,564.90
Sanford Tracy Hospital Tracy $3,189.60 $253.81 – $3,588.30

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →