Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Palisades Medical Center

7600 River Rd., North Bergen, NJ · Hackensack Meridian Health · · NPI 1730692344

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

$284.66

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.

$4,439.00

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.

$284.66 with VACCN vs $4,332.00 with BERGEN RISK — 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
VACCN ALL PRODUCTS $284.66 ↑ +0%
HORIZON BCBS BRAVEN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $284.66 ↑ +0%
HORIZON MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $284.66 ↑ +0%
AMERIGROUP MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $284.66 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $284.66 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $284.66 ↑ +0%
UNITED COMMUNITY/AMERICHOICE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $298.90 ↑ +5%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $310.28 ↑ +9%
KARNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $378.00 ↑ +33%
CIGNA HMO $393.77 ↑ +38%
CIGNA PPO $393.77 ↑ +38%
AETNA PPO $395.54 ↑ +39%
AETNA HMO $395.54 ↑ +39%
HORIZON MANAGED MEDICAID $541.20 ↑ +90%
UNITED HEALTHCARE HMO $559.79 ↑ +97%
OXFORD ALL PRODUCTS $559.79 ↑ +97%
AETNA MANAGED MEDICAID $759.07 ↑ +167%
SEOUL MEDICAL GROUP ALL PRODUCTS $772.39 ↑ +171%
CLOVER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $799.02 ↑ +181%
ACTIVECARE FIRST MCO ALL PRODUCTS $800.00 ↑ +181%
AMERIHEALTH LOCAL HMO $944.81 ↑ +232%
AMERIHEALTH REGIONAL HMO $945.67 ↑ +232%
HORIZON OMNIA $3,037.16 ↑ +967%
HORIZON WORKERS COMP $3,056.70 ↑ +974%
BRIGHTON HEALTH PLAN ALL PRODUCTS $3,062.91 ↑ +976%
HORIZON PIP $3,329.25 ↑ +1070%
HORIZON SHP $3,643.98 ↑ +1180%
HORIZON HMO $3,753.62 ↑ +1219%
MULTIPLAN - PHCS ALL PRODUCTS $3,773.15 ↑ +1225%
HORIZON INDEMNITY $3,782.92 ↑ +1229%
HORIZON PPO $3,848.61 ↑ +1252%
QUALCARE PPO $4,110.51 ↑ +1344%
QUALCARE HMO $4,110.51 ↑ +1344%
QUALCARE WORKERS COMP $4,110.51 ↑ +1344%
BERGEN RISK ALL PRODUCTS $4,332.00 ↑ +1422%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital
AMERIGROUP MANAGED MEDICAID not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other New-jersey hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Trinitas Regional Medical Center Elizabeth $535.69 $101.97 – $896.25
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Livingston $604.76 $271.19 – $2,072.00
Community Medical Center Toms River $591.91 $264.17 – $2,072.00
Clara Maass Medical Center Belleville $567.66 $271.19 – $2,072.00
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Newark $594.48 $104.97 – $2,072.00
Jersey City Medical Center Jersey City $593.06 $131.96 – $2,010.00
Monmouth Medical Center Long Branch $624.45 $267.55 – $2,072.00
Bayshore Medical Center Holmdel $267.55 $267.55 – $4,332.00

All New-jersey hospitals for this procedure →