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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at Ocean University Medical Center

425 Jack Martin Boulevard, Brick, NJ · Hackensack Meridian Health · · NPI 1477065126

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Dec 31, 2025 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$390.30

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.

Full explanation →

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

$4,675.00

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.

$357.13 with AMERIGROUP vs $4,332.00 with BERGEN RISK — 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
AMERIGROUP MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $357.13 ↓ -8%
HORIZON MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $357.13 ↓ -8%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $357.13 ↓ -8%
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $357.13 ↓ -8%
VACCN ALL PRODUCTS $357.13 ↓ -8%
WELLCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $357.13 ↓ -8%
UNITED COMMUNITY/AMERICHOICE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $374.99 ↓ -4%
HORIZON BCBS BRAVEN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $390.30 ↑ +0%
UNITED HEALTHCARE DSNP $468.36 ↑ +20%
KARNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $511.20 ↑ +31%
CIGNA PPO $608.30 ↑ +56%
CIGNA HMO $608.30 ↑ +56%
ACTIVECARE FIRST MCO ALL PRODUCTS $650.00 ↑ +67%
AETNA PPO $650.36 ↑ +67%
AETNA HMO $650.36 ↑ +67%
AETNA MANAGED MEDICAID $663.85 ↑ +70%
HORIZON MANAGED MEDICAID $740.85 ↑ +90%
SEOUL MEDICAL GROUP ALL PRODUCTS $836.14 ↑ +114%
CLOVER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $841.50 ↑ +116%
UNITED HEALTHCARE HMO $895.45 ↑ +129%
OXFORD ALL PRODUCTS $895.45 ↑ +129%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $951.00 ↑ +144%
AMERIHEALTH LOCAL HMO $1,094.00 ↑ +180%
AMERIHEALTH REGIONAL HMO $1,112.92 ↑ +185%
QUALCARE HMO $2,083.00 ↑ +434%
QUALCARE WORKERS COMP $2,159.44 ↑ +453%
INTERGROUP SHARED SAVINGS $2,722.30 ↑ +597%
INTERGROUP WORKERS COMP $2,722.30 ↑ +597%
QUALCARE PPO $3,006.20 ↑ +670%
HORIZON OMNIA $3,045.30 ↑ +680%
PRIME HEALTH WORKERS COMP $3,111.20 ↑ +697%
PRIME HEALTH AUTO INSURANCE $3,111.20 ↑ +697%
BRIGHTON HEALTH PLAN ALL PRODUCTS $3,225.75 ↑ +726%
AETNA ASA $3,266.76 ↑ +737%
MULTIPLAN - PHCS ALL PRODUCTS $3,305.65 ↑ +747%
HORIZON WORKERS COMP $3,351.04 ↑ +759%
HORIZON PIP $3,613.78 ↑ +826%
HORIZON SHP $3,645.10 ↑ +834%
HORIZON HMO $3,761.04 ↑ +864%
HORIZON INDEMNITY $3,805.45 ↑ +875%
HORIZON PPO $3,859.68 ↑ +889%
BERGEN RISK ALL PRODUCTS $4,332.00 ↑ +1010%
AMERIGROUP MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at other New-jersey hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Bayshore Medical Center Holmdel $395.29 $395.29 – $4,332.00
Hackensack University Medical Center Hackensack $420.58 $336.46 – $4,332.00

All New-jersey hospitals for this procedure →