Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with and without contrast) at Jersey Shore University Medical Center

1945 NJ-33, Neptune City, NJ · Hackensack Meridian Health · · NPI 1790297547

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

$197.04

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.

$3,084.00

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.

$197.04 with VACCN vs $3,084.00 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
VACCN ALL PRODUCTS $197.04 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $197.04 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $197.04 ↑ +0%
HORIZON BCBS BRAVEN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $197.04 ↑ +0%
OPTUM HEALTH MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $197.04 ↑ +0%
UNITED COMMUNITY/AMERICHOICE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $206.90 ↑ +5%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $214.78 ↑ +9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE DSNP $236.45 ↑ +20%
KARNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $372.95 ↑ +89%
CIGNA HMO $431.16 ↑ +119%
CIGNA PPO $431.16 ↑ +119%
AETNA MANAGED MEDICAID $511.94 ↑ +160%
UNITED HEALTHCARE HMO $548.59 ↑ +178%
OXFORD ALL PRODUCTS $548.59 ↑ +178%
CLOVER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $555.12 ↑ +182%
AETNA HMO $602.58 ↑ +206%
AETNA PPO $602.58 ↑ +206%
ACTIVECARE FIRST MCO ALL PRODUCTS $650.00 ↑ +230%
SEOUL MEDICAL GROUP ALL PRODUCTS $712.40 ↑ +262%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $714.00 ↑ +262%
AMERIHEALTH LOCAL HMO $762.35 ↑ +287%
AMERIHEALTH REGIONAL HMO $775.53 ↑ +294%
QUALCARE HMO $2,083.00 ↑ +957%
BRIGHTON HEALTH PLAN ALL PRODUCTS $2,127.96 ↑ +980%
QUALCARE WORKERS COMP $2,159.00 ↑ +996%
QUALCARE PPO $2,218.00 ↑ +1026%
HORIZON WORKERS COMP $2,228.50 ↑ +1031%
BEACON ALL PRODUCTS $2,313.00 ↑ +1074%
BERGEN RISK ALL PRODUCTS $2,313.00 ↑ +1074%
HORIZON PIP $2,350.01 ↑ +1093%
AETNA ASA $2,414.77 ↑ +1126%
HORIZON OMNIA $2,446.85 ↑ +1142%
CIGNA BH $2,467.20 ↑ +1152%
MULTIPLAN - PHCS ALL PRODUCTS $2,621.40 ↑ +1230%
HORIZON SHP $2,993.64 ↑ +1419%
HORIZON HMO $3,009.37 ↑ +1427%
HORIZON INDEMNITY $3,042.37 ↑ +1444%
HORIZON PPO $3,084.00 ↑ +1465%
HORIZON MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital
AMERIGROUP MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital
UBH ALL PRODUCTS 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 →