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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without 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

$2,713.80

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.

$4,523.00

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.

$347.79 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $5,287.54 with Highmark BCBS of PA — 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
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $347.79 ↓ -87%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA Medicaid $352.39 ↓ -87%
Highmark BCBS of PA Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage $353.02 ↓ -87%
Humana Medicare $361.84 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare $366.41 ↓ -86%
Cigna Medicare $368.87 ↓ -86%
United Healthcare Medicare $375.89 ↓ -86%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $379.40 ↓ -86%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $430.53 ↓ -84%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $461.72 ↓ -83%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $493.79 ↓ -82%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $577.72 ↓ -79%
Premier Comp Solutions Worker's Comp $650.00 ↓ -76%
Capital Blue Cross Medicare Advantage $904.60 ↓ -67%
Keystone Health Plan Medicare Advantage $904.60 ↓ -67%
Prime Net Managed Medicare $1,094.57 ↓ -60%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $2,529.54 ↓ -7%
Capital Blue Cross CHIP $2,588.24 ↓ -5%
Capital Blue Cross Commercial $2,588.24 ↓ -5%
Keystone Health Plan Commercial $2,588.24 ↓ -5%
Aetna ACO $2,664.05 ↓ -2%
Aetna PEBTF ACO $2,826.88 ↑ +4%
InterGroup PPO $2,939.95 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $3,328.93 ↑ +23%
Prime Net FH-Medical Rental $3,401.30 ↑ +25%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $3,794.78 ↑ +40%
Wellspan Population Health Commercial $3,844.55 ↑ +42%
Highmark BCBS of PA CHIP $5,287.54 ↑ +95%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial $5,287.54 ↑ +95%
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) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $5,999.40 $316.41 – $8,499.15
UPMC East Monroeville $6,218.40 $341.40 – $8,291.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $2,536.20 $281.64 – $2,958.90
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $2,713.80 $338.22 – $3,844.55
UPMC Bedford Everett $2,884.20 $122.85 – $4,326.30
UPMC Altoona Altoona $2,604.00 $269.00 – $3,472.00
UPMC Cole Coudersport $1,907.40 $355.95 – $2,543.20
UPMC Hanover Hanover $2,713.80 $337.76 – $3,935.01

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →