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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Carolinas Rehabilitation Charlotte

1100 Blythe Blvd, Charlotte, NC · Atrium Health · · NPI 1790727550

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Dec 5, 2025 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$2,013.08

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.

$4,026.15

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.

$61.82 with United Healthcare vs $3,704.06 with Multiplan — 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 Managed Medicaid $61.82 ↓ -97%
Wellcare Managed Medicaid $61.82 ↓ -97%
Healthy Blue Managed Medicaid $61.82 ↓ -97%
Amerihealth Caritas Managed Medicaid $61.82 ↓ -97%
Carolina Complete Health Managed Medicaid $61.82 ↓ -97%
Cigna Healthspring Medicare Advantage $65.55 ↓ -97%
Humana Medicare Advantage $66.86 ↓ -97%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $67.84 ↓ -97%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $68.03 ↓ -97%
Ambetter Individual Commercial $229.54 ↓ -89%
Aetna North Carolina Preferred Plus $245.05 ↓ -88%
Aetna Broad Network $270.37 ↓ -87%
United Healthcare IEX Commercial $290.33 ↓ -86%
MedCost Ultra $354.20 ↓ -82%
MedCost PPO $354.20 ↓ -82%
United Healthcare HMO-PPO Managed Care $410.41 ↓ -80%
Ambetter CoBranded Commercial $1,231.60 ↓ -39%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina HMO-PPO Managed Care $1,294.92 ↓ -36%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Local Group Commercial $1,395.87 ↓ -31%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Local Individual Commercial $1,488.47 ↓ -26%
Cigna Commercial NB $1,743.32 ↓ -13%
Employers Health Network Commercial $1,779.56 ↓ -12%
Aetna Whole Health HMO $1,984.89 ↓ -1%
Aetna Connected North Carolina Individual HMO $1,984.89 ↓ -1%
Physician Reach Out Plan P $2,013.08 ↑ +0%
Cigna HMO-PPO Managed Care $2,158.02 ↑ +7%
Quik Trip Commercial $2,617.00 ↑ +30%
Cigna Commercial SAR $2,717.65 ↑ +35%
Aetna First Health Commercial $2,939.09 ↑ +46%
ChoiceCare Commercial $3,140.40 ↑ +56%
Healthgram Commercial $3,220.92 ↑ +60%
Private Health Care Systems Commercial $3,301.44 ↑ +64%
First Health Commercial $3,422.23 ↑ +70%
Beechstreet Commercial $3,704.06 ↑ +84%
Multiplan Commercial $3,704.06 ↑ +84%
Physician Reach Out Plan H not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other North-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Atrium Health Behavioral Health Charlotte Charlotte $2,013.08 $61.82 – $3,543.01
Atrium Health Mercy Charlotte $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,704.06
Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,704.06
Atrium Health University City Charlotte $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,704.06
Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,623.54
Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,824.84
Atrium Health Cleveland Shelby $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,824.84
Atrium Health Cabarrus Concord $2,013.08 $61.21 – $3,824.84

All North-carolina hospitals for this procedure →