Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (without contrast) at River Falls Area Hospital

1617 E Division St, River Falls, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1285691725

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jun 15, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$1,386.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$2,475.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$227.33 with medicaid vs $2,215.10 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
?

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) $227.33 ↓ -84%
allina aetna medicare (r) allina aetna medicare (r) $233.60 ↓ -83%
medicare medicare (r) $245.90 ↓ -82%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc pmap (r) $325.00 ↓ -77%
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $445.68 ↓ -68%
medica health system medica pmap (r) $750.00 ↓ -46%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc state health plan (r) $802.77 ↓ -42%
bc aware/blue plus (nr) bc aware/blue plus (nr) $917.14 ↓ -34%
medicare other all other medicare (r) $937.25 ↓ -32%
medica medica medicare (r) $984.11 ↓ -29%
bcbs bc medicare (r) $984.11 ↓ -29%
medica health system medica dual solutions (r) $996.79 ↓ -28%
south country health alliance scha msho (r) $1,030.98 ↓ -26%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (r) $1,031.42 ↓ -26%
all other medicaid all other medicaid (r) $1,063.25 ↓ -23%
south country health alliance scha pmap (r) $1,095.15 ↓ -21%
bcbs bc aehp (r) $1,213.33 ↓ -12%
bc high value/ performance network (r) bc high value/ performance network (r) $1,302.45 ↓ -6%
aetna aetna elevate (n r) $1,357.19 ↓ -2%
aetna aetna performance (n r) $1,466.17 ↑ +6%
americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) $1,708.73 ↑ +23%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $1,860.68 ↑ +34%
americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) $1,860.68 ↑ +34%
aetna direct/indirect network aetna direct/indirect network (n r) $1,873.53 ↑ +35%
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) $2,215.10 ↑ +60%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Upper Back (Thoracic 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 $3,370.40 $253.81 – $3,791.70
Sanford Bagley Medical Center Bagley $2,976.00 $253.81 – $3,348.00
Sanford Wheaton Wheaton $2,879.20 $253.81 – $3,239.10
Sanford Luverne Medical Center Luverne $2,993.60 $253.81 – $3,367.80
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji $2,976.00 $176.78 – $3,348.00
Sanford Worthington Medical Center Worthington $3,441.60 $180.60 – $3,871.80
Sanford Tracy Hospital Tracy $3,370.40 $253.81 – $3,791.70

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →