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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at UPMC Community Osteopathic

111 South Front Street, Harrisburg, PA · UPMC · · NPI 157809786

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

$1,424.40

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$2,374.00

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.

$123.14 with United Healthcare Community Plan for Families vs $2,017.90 with Wellspan Population Health — 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 for Families PA Medicaid $123.14 ↓ -91%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $191.20 ↓ -87%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $205.05 ↓ -86%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $219.29 ↓ -85%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $256.57 ↓ -82%
Premier Comp Solutions Worker's Comp $280.00 ↓ -80%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $347.79 ↓ -76%
Highmark BCBS of PA Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage $353.02 ↓ -75%
Humana Medicare $361.84 ↓ -75%
Aetna Medicare $366.41 ↓ -74%
Cigna Medicare $368.87 ↓ -74%
United Healthcare Medicare $375.89 ↓ -74%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $379.40 ↓ -73%
Capital Blue Cross Medicare Advantage $474.80 ↓ -67%
Keystone Health Plan Medicare Advantage $474.80 ↓ -67%
Prime Net Managed Medicare $574.51 ↓ -60%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $791.28 ↓ -44%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $1,195.38 ↓ -16%
Capital Blue Cross CHIP $1,335.21 ↓ -6%
Capital Blue Cross Commercial $1,335.21 ↓ -6%
Keystone Health Plan Commercial $1,335.21 ↓ -6%
Aetna ACO $1,398.29 ↓ -2%
Aetna PEBTF ACO $1,483.75 ↑ +4%
InterGroup PPO $1,543.10 ↑ +8%
Highmark BCBS of PA CHIP $1,651.40 ↑ +16%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial $1,651.40 ↑ +16%
Aetna Commercial $1,747.26 ↑ +23%
Prime Net FH-Medical Rental $1,785.25 ↑ +25%
Wellspan Population Health Commercial $2,017.90 ↑ +42%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare Tricare not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC East Monroeville $2,917.20 $165.60 – $3,889.60
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $2,654.40 $165.60 – $3,760.40
UPMC Hamot Erie $2,052.60 $140.66 – $2,394.70
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $1,424.40 $123.14 – $2,017.90
UPMC Altoona Altoona $1,405.80 $94.00 – $1,874.40
UPMC Bedford Everett $957.60 $122.85 – $1,436.40
UPMC Cole Coudersport $961.20 $158.08 – $1,281.60
UPMC Hanover Hanover $1,424.40 $123.14 – $2,065.38

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →