Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with and without contrast) at Southern Ocean Medical Center

1140 Route 72 West, Manahawkin, NJ · Hackensack Meridian Health · · NPI 1831601590

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Dec 31, 2025 · Ingested Sep 4, 2026

$194.55

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.

$3,843.00

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.

$194.55 with WELLCARE vs $3,513.27 with HORIZON — 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
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $194.55 ↑ +0%
HORIZON BCBS BRAVEN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $194.55 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $194.55 ↑ +0%
VACCN ALL PRODUCTS $194.55 ↑ +0%
UNITED COMMUNITY/AMERICHOICE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $204.28 ↑ +5%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $212.06 ↑ +9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE DSNP $233.47 ↑ +20%
KARNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $372.95 ↑ +92%
CIGNA HMO $431.16 ↑ +122%
CIGNA PPO $431.16 ↑ +122%
UNITED HEALTHCARE HMO $434.32 ↑ +123%
AETNA HMO $641.95 ↑ +230%
AETNA PPO $641.95 ↑ +230%
CLOVER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $691.74 ↑ +256%
AETNA MANAGED MEDICAID $710.96 ↑ +265%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $714.00 ↑ +267%
AMERIHEALTH LOCAL HMO $775.74 ↑ +299%
SEOUL MEDICAL GROUP ALL PRODUCTS $787.82 ↑ +305%
AMERIHEALTH REGIONAL HMO $789.16 ↑ +306%
OXFORD ALL PRODUCTS $2,079.06 ↑ +969%
HORIZON PIP $2,501.79 ↑ +1186%
HORIZON WORKERS COMP $2,582.11 ↑ +1227%
BRIGHTON HEALTH PLAN ALL PRODUCTS $2,651.67 ↑ +1263%
HORIZON OMNIA $2,775.03 ↑ +1326%
BERGEN RISK ALL PRODUCTS $2,882.25 ↑ +1381%
AETNA ASA $3,009.07 ↑ +1447%
CIGNA BH $3,074.40 ↑ +1480%
MULTIPLAN - PHCS ALL PRODUCTS $3,266.55 ↑ +1579%
HORIZON SHP $3,298.83 ↑ +1596%
HORIZON INDEMNITY $3,420.27 ↑ +1658%
HORIZON HMO $3,422.58 ↑ +1659%
QUALCARE WORKERS COMP $3,489.44 ↑ +1694%
QUALCARE PPO $3,489.44 ↑ +1694%
QUALCARE HMO $3,489.44 ↑ +1694%
HORIZON PPO $3,513.27 ↑ +1706%
AMERIGROUP MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital
HORIZON MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with and without contrast) at other New-jersey hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Trinitas Regional Medical Center Elizabeth $521.43 $105.52 – $735.87
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Livingston $592.89 $199.72 – $726.00
Clara Maass Medical Center Belleville $807.13 $199.72 – $726.00
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Newark $582.82 $108.62 – $726.00
Jersey City Medical Center Jersey City $577.26 $136.55 – $704.00
Monmouth Medical Center Long Branch $607.82 $197.04 – $726.00
Bayshore Medical Center Holmdel $197.04 $197.04 – $1,762.00
Hackensack University Medical Center Hackensack $209.65 $167.72 – $3,036.82

All New-jersey hospitals for this procedure →