Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at MEDICAL CITY FORT WORTH HOSPITAL
900 EIGHTH AVENUE, FT WORTH, TX · Medicalcityhealthcare · · NPI 1659323772
$9,820.61
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$9,820.61
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$329.13 with Parkland Community Health Plan vs $9,820.61 with National Healthcare Solutions — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkland Community Health Plan | MCD | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| United | STARPLUS | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| United | STAR | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| United | CHIP | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| United | STARPerinate | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| Cook Childrens Health Plan | CHIP | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| Amerigroup | MGMCD | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| United | STARKids | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| Amerigroup | CHIP | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| Cook Childrens Health Plan | STAR | $329.13 | ↓ -97% |
| Healthspring Life | MCD | $345.59 | ↓ -96% |
| Cigna Healthspring | MGMCD | $345.59 | ↓ -96% |
| Aetna Better Health | CHIP | $355.46 | ↓ -96% |
| Aetna Better Health | MCD | $355.46 | ↓ -96% |
| Molina | CHIP | $362.04 | ↓ -96% |
| Molina | STAR+PLUS | $362.04 | ↓ -96% |
| Molina | STARKIDS | $362.04 | ↓ -96% |
| Molina | MCDSTAR | $362.04 | ↓ -96% |
| Humana | MGMCD | $411.41 | ↓ -96% |
| Imaging Providers of Texas | HMOBlue | $450.00 | ↓ -95% |
| BCBS | BluePremier | $454.40 | ↓ -95% |
| BCBS | BlueAdvantageHMO | $481.13 | ↓ -95% |
| BCBS | MyBlueHealth | $481.13 | ↓ -95% |
| United | SmallGroup | $616.10 | ↓ -94% |
| United | NarrowNetworkIndivExchange | $616.10 | ↓ -94% |
| Superior Health Plan | STARPLUS | $687.44 | ↓ -93% |
| Superior Health Plan | STARKids | $687.44 | ↓ -93% |
| Superior Health Plan | CHIP | $687.44 | ↓ -93% |
| Superior Health Plan | STARHealth | $687.44 | ↓ -93% |
| Superior Health Plan | MCDSTAR | $687.44 | ↓ -93% |
| Aetna | QHPHIX | $761.00 | ↓ -92% |
| United | AllPayerAppendix | $828.27 | ↓ -92% |
| Aetna | NewBusiness | $1,045.00 | ↓ -89% |
| Humana | COMM | $1,066.39 | ↓ -89% |
| Aetna | Meritain | $1,117.00 | ↓ -89% |
| Aetna | COMM | $1,117.00 | ↓ -89% |
| Aetna | OON | $1,314.00 | ↓ -87% |
| Cigna | IFP | $1,325.78 | ↓ -87% |
| Cigna | QHP | $1,374.89 | ↓ -86% |
| BCBS | BlueEssentialsAccess | $1,485.40 | ↓ -85% |
| BCBS | BlueEssentials | $1,485.40 | ↓ -85% |
| BCBS | EPOSOA | $1,557.95 | ↓ -84% |
| BCBS | PPO | $1,630.50 | ↓ -83% |
| United | OptionsPPO | $1,846.27 | ↓ -81% |
| Unicare | CHIP | $2,160.53 | ↓ -78% |
| Healthcare Highways | CityofPlano | $3,319.37 | ↓ -66% |
| BCBS | Traditional | $4,360.35 | ↓ -56% |
| City of McKinney | COMM | $4,419.27 | ↓ -55% |
| Fidelis SecureCare | MGMCR | $4,419.27 | ↓ -55% |
| National ChoiceCare | WCOMP | $4,910.31 | ↓ -50% |
| Emerging Therapy Solutions | MGMCR | $4,910.31 | ↓ -50% |
| Aetna | ASA | $5,175.46 | ↓ -47% |
| Cigna Lifesource | COMM | $5,204.92 | ↓ -47% |
| Aetna | WCOMP | $5,401.34 | ↓ -45% |
| Rockport Health Group | WORKERSCOMP | $5,401.34 | ↓ -45% |
| Physicians Coop of TX | MGMCR | $5,401.34 | ↓ -45% |
| PC Texas Partners | WCOMP | $5,401.34 | ↓ -45% |
| Averde Health, Inc | PPO | $5,695.95 | ↓ -42% |
| Aetna Coventry First Health | NONEXCLUSIVE | $5,784.34 | ↓ -41% |
| Aetna Coventry First Health | EXCLUSIVE | $5,784.34 | ↓ -41% |
| Coastal Comp Health Networks | WCOMP | $6,874.43 | ↓ -30% |
| Mega Life | MGMCRPPO | $6,874.43 | ↓ -30% |
| HealthSmart Preferred Care | PPO | $6,972.63 | ↓ -29% |
| Emerging Therapy Solutions | Commercial | $7,070.84 | ↓ -28% |
| LEWISVILLE ISD/DLS CONSULTING | COMMPPO | $7,365.46 | ↓ -25% |
| USC Health Services | COMM | $7,856.49 | ↓ -20% |
| USA Managed Care | COMM | $7,856.49 | ↓ -20% |
| Galaxy Health Network | PPO | $8,347.52 | ↓ -15% |
| Optum Transplant | COMM | $8,445.72 | ↓ -14% |
| Independent Medical Systems | COMM | $9,820.61 | ↑ +0% |
| Unicare | MCD | $9,820.61 | ↑ +0% |
| National Healthcare Solutions | COMM | $9,820.61 | ↑ +0% |
| TCU ATHLETICS | COMM | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adventhealth Rollins Brook | Lampasas | $5,565.11 | $1,779.42 – $1,779.42 |
| BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | Dallas | $3,196.33 | $329.13 – $3,995.41 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM | Brenham | $3,200.98 | $494.01 – $4,801.46 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA | Suite 110 | $3,167.94 | $329.13 – $3,959.93 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - CENTENNIAL | Frisco | $3,196.33 | $329.13 – $3,995.41 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - COLLEGE STATION | College Station | $3,200.98 | $332.94 – $4,801.46 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE CONTINUING CARE HOSPITAL | Temple | $3,200.98 | $329.13 – $4,801.46 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CENTER - CEDAR PARK | Cedar Park | $3,167.94 | $329.13 – $4,751.91 |