Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Owatonna Hospital

2250 NW 26th St, Owatonna, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1528025632

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

$2,310.06

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.

$4,125.10

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.

$332.39 with all other medicaid vs $3,323.90 with all other contracted care (a b c d e g h n o r s u) — 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
all other medicaid all other medicaid (o) $332.39 ↓ -86%
medicaid medicaid ma (o) $332.39 ↓ -86%
allina aetna medicare (o) allina aetna medicare (o) $341.56 ↓ -85%
medicare other all other medicare (o) $355.42 ↓ -85%
south country health alliance scha pmap (o) $358.98 ↓ -84%
medicare medicare (o) $359.54 ↓ -84%
medica medica medicare (o) $369.64 ↓ -84%
bcbs bc medicare (o) $373.19 ↓ -84%
blue cross blue shield bc pmap (b d o s v) $534.49 ↓ -77%
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $668.77 ↓ -71%
medica health system medica dual solutions (b d v o s) $796.00 ↓ -66%
healthpartners hpi (bdov) $816.44 ↓ -65%
health partners hpi cigna (bdov) $889.92 ↓ -61%
blue cross allina health blueprint (bdoshv) $1,097.19 ↓ -53%
blue cross blue shield bc state health plan (b d o s v) $1,114.13 ↓ -52%
medica health system medica elect (b d o s v) $1,157.52 ↓ -50%
medica mhps medica mhps (bdosv) $1,208.55 ↓ -48%
medica medica essentials (b d o s v) $1,208.55 ↓ -48%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (b d o s v) $1,240.68 ↓ -46%
medica health system medica choice (b d o s v) $1,272.00 ↓ -45%
blue cross blue shield bc aehp (b d o s v) $1,459.57 ↓ -37%
aetna aetna elevate (bdosv) $1,476.81 ↓ -36%
aetna aetna performance (bdosv) $1,559.91 ↓ -32%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc high value/performance network (bdosv) $1,566.72 ↓ -32%
blue cross blue shield bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) $1,649.21 ↓ -29%
aetna direct/indirect regional network aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) $1,970.41 ↓ -15%
medica ubh (o) medica ubh (o) $2,326.73 ↑ +1%
united healthcare (bdohsv) united healthcare (bdosv) $2,330.00 ↑ +1%
americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) $2,564.06 ↑ +11%
medica ubh pmap medica ubh pmap (o) $2,659.12 ↑ +15%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $2,792.08 ↑ +21%
americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) $2,792.08 ↑ +21%
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) $3,323.90 ↑ +44%

Visitor-reported prices

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Canby Medical Center Canby $4,217.60 $374.99 – $4,744.80
Sanford Westbrook Hospital Westbrook $4,399.20 $374.99 – $4,949.10
Sanford Bagley Medical Center Bagley $4,034.40 $374.99 – $4,538.70
Sanford Wheaton Wheaton $3,850.40 $374.99 – $4,331.70
Sanford Luverne Medical Center Luverne $4,279.20 $374.99 – $4,814.10
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji $4,034.40 $277.45 – $4,538.70
Sanford Worthington Medical Center Worthington $4,224.80 $283.44 – $4,752.90
Sanford Tracy Hospital Tracy $4,399.20 $374.99 – $4,949.10

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →