healthcosts.net

Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray 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

$272.40

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.

Full explanation →

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

$454.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$29.48 with United Healthcare Community Plan for Families vs $372.30 with Wellspan Population Health — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA Medicaid $29.48 ↓ -89%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $41.31 ↓ -85%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $44.31 ↓ -84%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $47.38 ↓ -83%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $55.44 ↓ -80%
Capital Blue Cross Medicare Advantage $87.60 ↓ -68%
Keystone Health Plan Medicare Advantage $87.60 ↓ -68%
Premier Comp Solutions Worker's Comp $89.27 ↓ -67%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $91.67 ↓ -66%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $103.55 ↓ -62%
Highmark BCBS of PA Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage $105.11 ↓ -61%
Prime Net Managed Medicare $106.00 ↓ -61%
Humana Medicare $107.74 ↓ -60%
Aetna Medicare $109.10 ↓ -60%
Cigna Medicare $109.83 ↓ -60%
United Healthcare Medicare $111.92 ↓ -59%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $112.97 ↓ -59%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $123.54 ↓ -55%
Capital Blue Cross CHIP $129.68 ↓ -52%
Capital Blue Cross Commercial $129.68 ↓ -52%
Keystone Health Plan Commercial $129.68 ↓ -52%
Highmark BCBS of PA CHIP $187.72 ↓ -31%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial $187.72 ↓ -31%
Aetna ACO $257.98 ↓ -5%
Aetna PEBTF ACO $273.75 ↑ +0%
InterGroup PPO $284.70 ↑ +5%
Aetna Commercial $322.37 ↑ +18%
Prime Net FH-Medical Rental $329.38 ↑ +21%
Wellspan Population Health Commercial $372.30 ↑ +37%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare Tricare not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC East Monroeville $436.20 $33.98 – $581.60
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $419.40 $34.28 – $594.15
UPMC Hamot Erie $438.00 $25.96 – $511.00
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $262.80 $29.48 – $372.30
UPMC Altoona Altoona $208.80 $22.50 – $278.40
UPMC Bedford Everett $115.80 $34.16 – $173.70
UPMC Cole Coudersport $171.00 $34.16 – $228.00
UPMC Hanover Hanover $262.80 $29.48 – $381.06

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →