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

1211 Wilmington Avenue, New Castle, PA · UPMC · · NPI 111471575

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

$930.00

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.

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

$1,550.00

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.

$108.10 with United Healthcare Community Plan for Families vs $1,364.00 with National Provider Network — 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 CHIP/PA Medicaid $108.10 ↓ -88%
Aetna of PA Medicare $164.38 ↓ -82%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $165.60 ↓ -82%
Aetna Medicaid $170.12 ↓ -82%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $195.73 ↓ -79%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $209.25 ↓ -78%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $256.57 ↓ -72%
Humana Medicare $340.48 ↓ -63%
United Healthcare Medicare $340.48 ↓ -63%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $354.85 ↓ -62%
UPMC Health Plan EPO Partners/Partners/Select $355.53 ↓ -62%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $367.68 ↓ -60%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $367.72 ↓ -60%
Cigna Medicare $367.72 ↓ -60%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $367.72 ↓ -60%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $382.24 ↓ -59%
Occunet Commercial $425.60 ↓ -54%
Cigna Commercial $670.35 ↓ -28%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $736.80 ↓ -21%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $756.11 ↓ -19%
United Healthcare Commercial $763.00 ↓ -18%
Multiplan PPO (inc. Auto and Worker's Compensation) $1,162.50 ↑ +25%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $1,195.38 ↑ +29%
Humana Commercial $1,240.00 ↑ +33%
National Provider Network PPO $1,364.00 ↑ +47%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare East Region 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 Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $1,424.40 $123.14 – $2,017.90

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →