Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at River Falls Area Hospital
1617 E Division St, River Falls, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1285691725
$1,848.11
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.
$3,300.20
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.
$332.39 with medicaid vs $2,585.30 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| medicaid | medicaid ma (r) | $332.39 | ↓ -82% |
| allina aetna medicare (r) | allina aetna medicare (r) | $341.56 | ↓ -82% |
| medicare | medicare (r) | $359.54 | ↓ -81% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc pmap (r) | $465.34 | ↓ -75% |
| ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) | ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) | $520.16 | ↓ -72% |
| medica health system | medica pmap (r) | $750.00 | ↓ -59% |
| medicare other | all other medicare (r) | $1,093.89 | ↓ -41% |
| medica | medica medicare (r) | $1,148.58 | ↓ -38% |
| bcbs | bc medicare (r) | $1,148.58 | ↓ -38% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc state health plan (r) | $1,149.40 | ↓ -38% |
| medica health system | medica dual solutions (r) | $1,163.39 | ↓ -37% |
| south country health alliance | scha msho (r) | $1,203.28 | ↓ -35% |
| all other medicaid | all other medicaid (r) | $1,240.94 | ↓ -33% |
| south country health alliance | scha pmap (r) | $1,278.17 | ↓ -31% |
| bc aware/blue plus (nr) | bc aware/blue plus (nr) | $1,313.16 | ↓ -29% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc premier (r) | $1,476.77 | ↓ -20% |
| aetna | aetna elevate (n r) | $1,584.01 | ↓ -14% |
| aetna | aetna performance (n r) | $1,711.21 | ↓ -7% |
| bcbs | bc aehp (r) | $1,737.23 | ↓ -6% |
| bc high value/ performance network (r) | bc high value/ performance network (r) | $1,864.83 | ↑ +1% |
| americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | $1,994.30 | ↑ +8% |
| americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) | americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) | $2,171.65 | ↑ +18% |
| first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) | first health (abdmnosurv) | $2,171.65 | ↑ +18% |
| aetna direct/indirect network | aetna direct/indirect network (n r) | $2,186.65 | ↑ +18% |
| 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) | $2,585.30 | ↑ +40% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at other Minnesota hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Canby Medical Center | Canby | $3,407.20 | $374.99 – $3,833.10 |
| Sanford Westbrook Hospital | Westbrook | $3,508.00 | $374.99 – $3,946.50 |
| Sanford Bagley Medical Center | Bagley | $3,376.80 | $374.99 – $3,798.90 |
| Sanford Wheaton | Wheaton | $3,036.00 | $374.99 – $3,415.50 |
| Sanford Luverne Medical Center | Luverne | $3,344.00 | $374.99 – $3,762.00 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | Bemidji | $3,376.80 | $277.45 – $3,798.90 |
| Sanford Tracy Hospital | Tracy | $3,508.00 | $374.99 – $3,946.50 |
| Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center | Thief River Falls | $3,382.40 | $374.99 – $3,805.20 |