Brain MRI (with and without contrast) at SUMMIT MEDICAL CENTER

100 SUMMIT BLVD, MT JULIET, TN · Tristarhealth · · NPI 1982650024

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 16, 2026

$19,492.76

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.

$19,492.76

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.

$425.72 with Humana vs $17,153.63 with Beech Street — 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
Humana NarrowExchangeNetwork $425.72 ↓ -98%
Humana BroadNetwork $425.72 ↓ -98%
Humana HumanaChoice $425.72 ↓ -98%
Humana HumanaChoiceCare $425.72 ↓ -98%
United CorePayer $616.10 ↓ -97%
United AllPayerAppendix $616.10 ↓ -97%
United HeritageSelect $616.10 ↓ -97%
Aetna NewBusiness $887.81 ↓ -95%
Aetna COMM $887.81 ↓ -95%
BCBS TENNCARE $1,008.04 ↓ -95%
BCBS COVERKIDS $1,092.63 ↓ -94%
BCBS BlueCare $1,875.09 ↓ -90%
Kentucky Labor Cabinet WORKERSCOMP $3,588.62 ↓ -82%
Apex Health MCR $3,703.62 ↓ -81%
NHC Advantage, Inc. MCRHMO $3,703.62 ↓ -81%
Pruitt Health (AllyAlign) MCR $3,703.62 ↓ -81%
Humana TRICARE $4,873.19 ↓ -75%
United OptionsPPO $5,438.48 ↓ -72%
Cigna PPO $6,354.64 ↓ -67%
United GlobalBenefitPlan $8,771.74 ↓ -55%
Aetna NAP $9,746.38 ↓ -50%
BGFH SingleSource DIRECTNETWORK $9,746.38 ↓ -50%
Humana BH COMM $12,670.29 ↓ -35%
Multiplan COMM $12,670.29 ↓ -35%
Employers Health Network COMM $13,644.93 ↓ -30%
Cigna Evernorth Behavioral Health COMM $15,594.21 ↓ -20%
BGFH SingleSource LEASEDNETWORK $16,568.85 ↓ -15%
Prime Health COMMPPO $17,153.63 ↓ -12%
Beech Street COMM $17,153.63 ↓ -12%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Brain MRI (with and without contrast) at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $1,553.91 $297.06 – $981.30
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $2,479.89 $315.33 – $5,864.60
62-1166050 BMH Carroll County Huntingdon $1,158.74 $283.71 – $652.20
CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga Chattanooga $3,543.90 $315.33 – $5,864.60
Johnson City Medical Center JOHNSON CITY $668.55 $325.55 – $709.70
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $1,592.39 $264.35 – $981.30
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $1,592.39 $264.35 – $1,057.38
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $1,516.56 $264.35 – $1,339.35

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →