Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at St. Joseph Health Burleson Hospital

1101 Woodson Drive, Caldwell, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1750377289

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$691.78

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.

$3,953.00

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.

$461.69 with SUPERIOR vs $3,953.00 with BCBS-TX — 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
SUPERIOR Medicaid|CHIP $461.69 ↓ -33%
UNITED Medicaid|All Other Plans $470.92 ↓ -32%
UNITED Medicaid|STARKIDS $470.92 ↓ -32%
BCBS Medicaid|STARKIDS $484.77 ↓ -30%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|All Other Plans $484.77 ↓ -30%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|STAR $581.73 ↓ -16%
Cigna Commercial|Local Plus $731.00 ↑ +6%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $850.00 ↑ +23%
BCBS Medicare|All Plans $869.66 ↑ +26%
UNITED Medicare|All Plans $887.06 ↑ +28%
AMERIVANTAGE Medicare|All Plans $895.75 ↑ +29%
SCANHealth Medicare|All Plans $930.54 ↑ +35%
AETNA Medicare|All Plans $988.25 ↑ +43%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|STARPLUS $1,075.74 ↑ +56%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Advantage HMO $1,076.82 ↑ +56%
UNITED Medicaid|STARPLUS $1,098.82 ↑ +59%
Wellpoint Medicaid|All Other Plans $1,162.19 ↑ +68%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Premier $1,244.83 ↑ +80%
BCBS-TX Commercial|HMO $1,248.65 ↑ +80%
Ambetter Commercial|All Plans $1,261.01 ↑ +82%
Wellpoint Commercial|Exchange $1,304.49 ↑ +89%
Wellpoint Medicaid|STAR $1,394.62 ↑ +102%
BCBS-TX Commercial|PPO $1,466.30 ↑ +112%
Bright Health Commercial|All Plans $1,548.00 ↑ +124%
United Commercial|Exchange $1,676.00 ↑ +142%
Entrust Commercial|All Plans $1,897.44 ↑ +174%
Health Smart Commercial|All Plans $2,174.15 ↑ +214%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $2,371.80 ↑ +243%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,529.92 ↑ +266%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $2,529.92 ↑ +266%
Ellwood Commercial|All Plans $2,608.98 ↑ +277%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $3,083.34 ↑ +346%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $3,360.05 ↑ +386%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $3,557.70 ↑ +414%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Ref Lab $3,953.00 ↑ +471%

Visitor-reported prices

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Adventhealth Rollins Brook Lampasas $4,302.62 $1,779.42 – $1,779.42
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Dallas $2,381.40 $173.75 – $2,976.75
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM Brenham $2,041.20 $420.15 – $3,061.80
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA Suite 110 $2,381.40 $173.75 – $2,976.75
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - CENTENNIAL Frisco $2,381.40 $173.75 – $2,976.75
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - COLLEGE STATION College Station $2,041.20 $185.91 – $3,061.80
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE CONTINUING CARE HOSPITAL Temple $2,041.20 $173.75 – $3,061.80
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CENTER - CEDAR PARK Cedar Park $2,381.40 $173.75 – $3,572.10

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →