Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital

147 Gettys Street, Gettysburg, PA · Wellspan · · NPI 1265466957

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$700.50

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.

$2,646.00

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.

$336.25 with UPMC_Medicaid vs $2,513.70 with Geisinger — 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
UPMC_Medicaid All_Plans $336.25 ↓ -52%
Johns_Hopkins_HealthCare_Plan Johns_Hopkins_US_Family_Health $365.72 ↓ -48%
Blue_Cross_BlueJourney_Medicare All_Plans $365.72 ↓ -48%
Highmark_Medicare All_Plans $369.38 ↓ -47%
Aetna_Advantra_Medicare All_Plans $376.69 ↓ -46%
Aetna_Medicare All_Plans $376.69 ↓ -46%
Devoted_Medicare All_Plans $384.01 ↓ -45%
United_Medicare ISNP_DSNP_Plans $384.01 ↓ -45%
Geisinger_Gold_Medicare All_Plans $384.01 ↓ -45%
Highmark_Wholecare_Gateway_Medicare All_Plans $385.65 ↓ -45%
Amerihealth_Medicare All_Plans $385.83 ↓ -45%
PA_Health_&_Wellness_Medicare All_Plans $394.98 ↓ -44%
Jefferson_Health_Medicare_Advantage All_Plans $394.98 ↓ -44%
Health_Partners_Medicaid Kidz_Partners $402.29 ↓ -43%
Health_Partners_Medicaid All_Other_Plans $423.75 ↓ -40%
Highmark_Wholecare_Gateway_Medicaid All_Plans $423.75 ↓ -40%
PA_Health_&_Wellness_Medicaid All_Plans $423.75 ↓ -40%
Geisinger_Medicaid All_Plans $423.75 ↓ -40%
UPMC_Medicare UPMC_for_Life_Complete_Care $440.88 ↓ -37%
UPMC_for_Life_Community_HealthChoices UPMC_for_Life_Complete_Care $440.88 ↓ -37%
Amerihealth_Caritas_Medicaid All_Plans $481.38 ↓ -31%
Highmark Higmark_Healthy_Kids $548.58 ↓ -22%
United_Medicaid Community_Plan_For_Kids $640.01 ↓ -9%
Blue_Cross Capital_Blue_Performance_PPO $718.00 ↑ +2%
WellSpan_Capital_Blue_Cross All_Plans $721.00 ↑ +3%
Aetna_Better_Health_Kids All_Plans $1,152.60 ↑ +65%
Highmark My_Priority_Blue_Flex $1,282.14 ↑ +83%
Highmark My_Direct_Blue $1,282.14 ↑ +83%
Blue_Cross Capital_Cares_4_kids $1,485.20 ↑ +112%
Highmark Choice_Blue_PPO $1,709.56 ↑ +144%
Highmark Blue_Cross_High_Performance_Network $1,709.56 ↑ +144%
Highmark Performance_Blue $1,709.56 ↑ +144%
United_Healthcare All_Plans $2,106.92 ↑ +201%
UPMC UPMC_For_Kids $2,116.80 ↑ +202%
PHC All_Plans $2,116.80 ↑ +202%
UPMC Employees_And_Dependents $2,116.80 ↑ +202%
Blue_Cross All_Other_Plans $2,121.83 ↑ +203%
Highmark All_Other_Plans $2,136.94 ↑ +205%
Cigna All_Plans $2,275.56 ↑ +225%
Aetna All_Plans $2,391.98 ↑ +241%
First_Health_Network All_Plans $2,418.44 ↑ +245%
Johns_Hopkins_HealthCare_Plan All_Other_Plans $2,460.78 ↑ +251%
Geisinger All_Plans $2,513.70 ↑ +259%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Altoona Altoona $2,604.00 $269.00 – $3,472.00
UPMC Bedford Everett $2,884.20 $122.85 – $4,326.30
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $2,713.80 $338.22 – $3,844.55
UPMC Cole Coudersport $1,907.40 $355.95 – $2,543.20
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $2,713.80 $347.79 – $3,844.55
UPMC East Monroeville $6,218.40 $341.40 – $8,291.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $2,536.20 $281.64 – $2,610.88
UPMC Northwest Seneca $3,827.40 $308.78 – $2,417.12

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →