Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with contrast) at University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center
3999 Richmond Road, Beachwood, OH · University Hospitals · · NPI 1609189604
$2,441.25
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$3,255.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$330.06 with Medical Mutual of Ohio vs $2,929.50 with Fortified Provider Network — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Mutual of Ohio | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| WellCare by AllWell | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Anthem | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| The Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| SummaCare | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Cigna | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Primetime Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Devoted Health | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $330.06 | ↓ -86% |
| Paramount | Medicare Advantage | $339.96 | ↓ -86% |
| Valor Health Plans | Medicare Advantage | $346.56 | ↓ -86% |
| Perennial Advantage of Ohio | Medicare Advantage | $346.56 | ↓ -86% |
| Ambetter | Commercial | $594.11 | ↓ -76% |
| CareSource | Marketplace | $594.11 | ↓ -76% |
| Medical Mutual of Ohio | Northern Ohio Commercial | $719.36 | ↓ -71% |
| University Health Employee Plan (Contigo) | Commercial | $728.00 | ↓ -70% |
| Amish Church Fund and Workers Aid Plan | Fund | $800.00 | ↓ -67% |
| Buckeye Plain Ministries | Fund | $800.00 | ↓ -67% |
| Amish Aid Community Plan | Fund | $800.00 | ↓ -67% |
| SummaCare | Commercial | $900.00 | ↓ -63% |
| Medical Mutual of Ohio | MedFlex Commercial | $1,125.00 | ↓ -54% |
| Medical Mutual of Ohio | SuperMed Commercial | $1,250.00 | ↓ -49% |
| Christian Healthcare Ministries | Fund | $1,351.00 | ↓ -45% |
| Medical Mutual of Ohio | NAS Commercial | $1,375.00 | ↓ -44% |
| Cigna | OAP Commercial | $1,375.00 | ↓ -44% |
| AultCare | Commercial | $1,425.00 | ↓ -42% |
| Anthem | Pathway Commercial | $1,553.00 | ↓ -36% |
| Immergrun | Commercial | $1,627.50 | ↓ -33% |
| Sunrise Plan Communities | Fund | $1,627.50 | ↓ -33% |
| Anthem | Commercial | $1,726.00 | ↓ -29% |
| Cigna | PPO Commercial | $1,806.53 | ↓ -26% |
| United Healthcare | Nexus Commercial | $1,924.00 | ↓ -21% |
| JP Farley | Commercial | $1,957.00 | ↓ -20% |
| Anthem | Traditional | $2,070.18 | ↓ -15% |
| Aetna | OPN Commercial | $2,093.00 | ↓ -14% |
| HealthSmart | Commercial | $2,115.75 | ↓ -13% |
| Ohio Health Choice | Preferred Health Choice Plus Commercial | $2,115.75 | ↓ -13% |
| The Health Plan | Commercial | $2,148.30 | ↓ -12% |
| United Healthcare | Commercial | $2,186.00 | ↓ -10% |
| Medical Mutual Traditional/Health Ohio | Commercial | $2,278.50 | ↓ -7% |
| Aetna | Commercial | $2,326.00 | ↓ -5% |
| Ohio Preferred Network | Commercial | $2,604.00 | ↑ +7% |
| Beech Street | Commercial | $2,604.00 | ↑ +7% |
| First Health | Commercial | $2,701.65 | ↑ +11% |
| Century Health Network | Commercial | $2,766.75 | ↑ +13% |
| Private Healthcare System | Commercial | $2,799.30 | ↑ +15% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial | $2,929.50 | ↑ +20% |
| Ohio Health Choice | Commercial | $2,929.50 | ↑ +20% |
| Fortified Provider Network | Commercial | $2,929.50 | ↑ +20% |
| Humana | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| CareSource | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| Buckeye | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| United Healthcare | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| Molina | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| Amerihealth Caritas | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| Aetna (Ohio Rise) | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with contrast) at other Ohio hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| University Hospitals Beachwood Medical Center | Beachwood | $2,441.25 | $330.06 – $2,929.50 |
| Trinity Medical Center East | Steubenville | $3,070.81 | $1,502.00 – $4,767.84 |
| cleveland clinic main campus | Cleveland | $2,110.55 | $1.10 – $2,217.60 |
| akron general | Akron | $2,110.55 | $0.87 – $2,217.60 |
| avon hospital | Avon | $1,601.60 | $0.87 – $2,217.60 |
| euclid hospital | Euclid | $1,601.60 | $0.87 – $2,217.60 |
| fairview hospital | Cleveland | $1,601.60 | $0.87 – $2,217.60 |
| lutheran hospital | Cleveland | $1,601.60 | $0.87 – $2,217.60 |