Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at MUSC Health Florence Medical Center

805 Pamplico Hwy Box 100550, Florence, SC · Muschealth · · NPI 1184197683

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$2,551.00

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.

$5,102.00

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.

$324.48 with Bcbs vs $1,031.15 with Bcbs — 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
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $324.48 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $330.97 ↓ -87%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $348.82 ↓ -86%
Molina Exchange $356.93 ↓ -86%
Bcbs Employee $404.25 ↓ -84%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $539.00 ↓ -79%
Bcbs Bluechoice/Blueoptions Exchange $690.60 ↓ -73%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $690.60 ↓ -73%
Bcbs Lowcountry Blue Exchange $753.81 ↓ -70%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $862.67 ↓ -66%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $1,031.15 ↓ -60%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER MONCKS CORNER $8,242.00 $199.32 – $663.22
LIVE OAK MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS Ladson $8,242.00 $199.32 – $663.22
MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center Camden $1,637.00 $306.04 – $370.95
St Francis Downtown Greenville $1,294.80 not published
MUSC Health Chester Medical Center Chester $1,176.50 $337.23 – $370.95
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $827.50 $324.48 – $356.93
MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston Charleston $827.50 $304.10 – $356.93
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $1,014.00 $324.48 – $382.16

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →