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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at UPMC Lititz

1500 Highlands Drive, Lititz, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1285167916

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 6, 2026 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$1,656.00

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.

$2,760.00

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.

$229.84 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $2,346.00 with Multiplan — 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 Medicare $229.84 ↓ -86%
Aetna Medicare $242.14 ↓ -85%
Cigna Medicare $243.77 ↓ -85%
Geisinger Medicare $243.77 ↓ -85%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA Medicaid $245.23 ↓ -85%
United Healthcare Medicare $248.41 ↓ -85%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $325.31 ↓ -80%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $325.31 ↓ -80%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $333.00 ↓ -80%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $348.88 ↓ -79%
Prime Net Managed Medicare $369.84 ↓ -78%
Keystone Autism Services ACAP $371.46 ↓ -78%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $373.11 ↓ -77%
OneCall Worker's Comp $400.00 ↓ -76%
Premier Comp Solutions Worker's Comp $425.00 ↓ -74%
Keystone Health Plan Medicare Advantage $552.00 ↓ -67%
Capital Blue Cross Medicare Advantage $552.00 ↓ -67%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Children's Health Insurance $686.31 ↓ -59%
Highmark BCBS of PA Medicaid $714.63 ↓ -57%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial $730.24 ↓ -56%
Prime Net Legacy Commercial $1,023.96 ↓ -38%
Aetna ACO $1,032.24 ↓ -38%
Prime Net ACO $1,032.24 ↓ -38%
Prime Net NonGateKeeper $1,219.92 ↓ -26%
Cigna Commercial $1,224.77 ↓ -26%
Prime Net GateKeeper $1,228.20 ↓ -26%
Aetna Commercial $1,228.20 ↓ -26%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $1,285.02 ↓ -22%
Capital Blue Cross CHIP $1,294.72 ↓ -22%
Keystone Health Plan Commercial $1,294.72 ↓ -22%
Capital Blue Cross Commercial $1,294.72 ↓ -22%
Preferred Healthcare System Inter County Health Plan/Lancaster General Health/Musselman Lumber/Vallorbs Jewelry $1,518.00 ↓ -8%
Geisinger Commercial $1,807.25 ↑ +9%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $1,932.00 ↑ +17%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $1,948.86 ↑ +18%
Prime Net FH-Medical Rental $1,998.24 ↑ +21%
United Healthcare Commercial $2,031.36 ↑ +23%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $2,070.00 ↑ +25%
Multiplan PPO (Includes PHCS and Humana as Payers) $2,346.00 ↑ +42%
Tricare East Region not published by hospital
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $3,801.60 $214.16 – $5,385.60
UPMC East Monroeville $3,940.80 $231.07 – $5,254.40
UPMC Hamot Erie $1,623.00 $183.52 – $1,893.50
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $4,861.20 $206.32 – $6,886.70
UPMC Jameson New Castle $1,519.80 $197.92 – $2,229.04
UPMC Kane Kane $2,338.80 $93.80 – $1,227.91
UPMC McKeesport Mckeesport $3,834.60 $213.60 – $5,432.35
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $1,656.00 $228.92 – $2,346.00

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →