Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at NORTHCREST MEDICAL CENTER

100 NORTHCREST DRIVE, SPRINGFIELD, TN · Tristarhealth · · NPI 1093397184

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

$6,365.58

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.

$6,365.58

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.

$226.72 with Humana vs $5,219.78 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
Humana NarrowExchangeNetwork $226.72 ↓ -96%
Humana HumanaChoice $226.72 ↓ -96%
Humana HumanaChoiceCare $226.72 ↓ -96%
Humana BroadNetwork $226.72 ↓ -96%
Molina MCD $445.59 ↓ -93%
Aetna NewBusiness $459.25 ↓ -93%
Aetna COMM $459.25 ↓ -93%
United CorePayer $616.10 ↓ -90%
United HeritageSelect $616.10 ↓ -90%
United AllPayerAppendix $616.10 ↓ -90%
NHC Advantage, Inc. MCRHMO $1,209.46 ↓ -81%
United OptionsPPO $1,406.79 ↓ -78%
Cigna PPO $1,865.11 ↓ -71%
United GlobalBenefitPlan $2,864.51 ↓ -55%
Aetna NAP $3,182.79 ↓ -50%
City of Springfield COMM $4,137.63 ↓ -35%
Multiplan ComplementaryNetwork $4,965.15 ↓ -22%
Multiplan PrimaryNetwork $5,219.78 ↓ -18%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $812.40 $189.26 – $619.72
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $1,158.84 $157.26 – $2,740.50
62-1166050 BMH Carroll County Huntingdon $827.08 $200.25 – $652.20
CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga Chattanooga $1,656.05 $157.26 – $2,740.50
Johnson City Medical Center JOHNSON CITY $559.65 $232.29 – $709.70
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $1,009.76 $148.75 – $619.72
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $1,009.76 $148.75 – $619.72
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $961.67 $148.75 – $619.72

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →