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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Sanford Hospital Webster

1401 W 1st St, Webster, SD · Sanford Health · · NPI 1831103449

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$4,319.20

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.

$5,399.00

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.

$1,695.29 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $4,859.10 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
Sanford Health Plan Align Medicare Replacement $1,695.29 ↓ -61%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $1,819.46 ↓ -58%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $1,819.46 ↓ -58%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $1,835.66 ↓ -58%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $1,835.66 ↓ -58%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $1,835.66 ↓ -58%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $1,835.66 ↓ -58%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $1,870.75 ↓ -57%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $2,958.11 ↓ -32%
Security Health Plan Commercial $2,969.45 ↓ -31%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $3,373.30 ↓ -22%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $3,480.20 ↓ -19%
Health Partners State Employees $3,563.34 ↓ -18%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $3,968.27 ↓ -8%
Health Partners Commercial $4,049.25 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $4,454.18 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $4,508.17 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $4,643.14 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $4,691.73 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $4,743.56 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $4,761.92 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $4,859.10 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $4,859.10 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $4,859.10 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $4,430.40 $1,215.50 – $4,984.20
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $4,865.60 $170.46 – $5,473.80
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $4,159.20 $1,778.06 – $4,679.10
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $3,938.40 $1,683.67 – $4,430.70
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $4,184.80 $1,543.15 – $4,707.90
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $4,230.40 $339.27 – $4,759.20

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →