Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

201 Lyons Ave, Newark, NJ · RWJBarnabas Health · · NPI 1215027966

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$699.05

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.

$3,356.00

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.

$148.88 with United Healthcare vs $3,317.00 with Qualcare Inc — 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
United Healthcare Community Plan $148.88 ↓ -79%
Cigna Local Plus $326.00 ↓ -53%
Fidelis Care Medicare Advantage $400.67 ↓ -43%
Humana Medicare $400.67 ↓ -43%
Aetna Medicare $400.67 ↓ -43%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Medicare Advantage $400.67 ↓ -43%
Wellpoint Medicare Advantage $400.67 ↓ -43%
Clover Health Medicare Advantage $400.67 ↓ -43%
United Healthcare Medicare $408.68 ↓ -42%
Cigna HMO $414.00 ↓ -41%
Cigna PPO $436.00 ↓ -38%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey NJ Health $492.00 ↓ -30%
United Healthcare Oxford Metro $493.70 ↓ -29%
United Healthcare Nexus $493.70 ↓ -29%
Aetna PPO $531.24 ↓ -24%
Aetna HMO $531.24 ↓ -24%
United Healthcare Commercial $603.32 ↓ -14%
United Healthcare Oxford Commercial $603.32 ↓ -14%
Amerihealth Regional Preferred $769.19 ↑ +10%
Amerihealth Local Value $769.19 ↑ +10%
Wellcare Ambetter Health Commercial $797.33 ↑ +14%
Emblem Health Commercial $801.34 ↑ +15%
Aetna Better Health $834.97 ↑ +19%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Managed $864.02 ↑ +24%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Non-Managed $864.02 ↑ +24%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Omnia $864.02 ↑ +24%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey State Benefit Plan $864.02 ↑ +24%
Fidelis Care NJ Family Care $871.21 ↑ +25%
Wellpoint NJ Family Care $1,912.92 ↑ +174%
First Health Commercial $2,013.60 ↑ +188%
Qualcare Inc PPO/WC $2,072.00 ↑ +196%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Worker's Comp $2,852.60 ↑ +308%
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey PIP $3,132.15 ↑ +348%
Qualcare Inc HMO/POS $3,317.00 ↑ +375%

Visitor-reported prices

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Trinitas Regional Medical Center Elizabeth $629.92 $144.63 – $1,037.77
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Livingston $711.13 $400.67 – $2,072.00
Community Medical Center Toms River $696.03 $326.00 – $2,072.00
Clara Maass Medical Center Belleville $667.50 $326.00 – $2,072.00
Jersey City Medical Center Jersey City $697.37 $187.16 – $2,010.00
Monmouth Medical Center Long Branch $734.29 $326.00 – $2,072.00
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 →