Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at St. Joseph Health Madison Hospital

100 West Cross Street, Madisonville, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1780731737

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

$1,250.03

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.

$7,143.00

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 $7,143.00 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 ↓ -63%
UNITED Medicaid|All Other Plans $470.92 ↓ -62%
UNITED Medicaid|STARKIDS $470.92 ↓ -62%
BCBS Medicaid|STARKIDS $484.77 ↓ -61%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|All Other Plans $484.77 ↓ -61%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|STAR $669.45 ↓ -46%
PGT Medicare|All Plans $910.02 ↓ -27%
BCBS Medicare|All Plans $928.59 ↓ -26%
AETNA Medicare|All Plans $928.59 ↓ -26%
UNITED Medicare|All Plans $947.17 ↓ -24%
AMERIVANTAGE Medicare|All Plans $956.45 ↓ -23%
SCANHealth Medicare|All Plans $993.60 ↓ -21%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Advantage HMO $1,076.82 ↓ -14%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|STARPLUS $1,144.99 ↓ -8%
UNITED Medicaid|STARPLUS $1,168.08 ↓ -7%
Cigna Commercial|Local Plus $1,169.00 ↓ -6%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Premier $1,244.83 ↓ -0%
BCBS-TX Commercial|HMO $1,248.65 ↓ -0%
Ambetter Commercial|All Plans $1,346.46 ↑ +8%
Wellpoint Commercial|Exchange $1,392.89 ↑ +11%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $1,450.00 ↑ +16%
BCBS-TX Commercial|PPO $1,466.30 ↑ +17%
Wellpoint Medicaid|All Other Plans $1,800.04 ↑ +44%
United Commercial|Exchange $2,011.00 ↑ +61%
Wellpoint Medicaid|STAR $2,475.05 ↑ +98%
Bright Health Commercial|All Plans $2,670.06 ↑ +114%
Ellwood Commercial|All Plans $2,785.77 ↑ +123%
Entrust Commercial|All Plans $3,000.06 ↑ +140%
NX Health Commercial|All Plans $3,017.92 ↑ +141%
Health Smart Commercial|All Plans $3,928.65 ↑ +214%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $3,947.00 ↑ +216%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $4,285.80 ↑ +243%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $4,571.52 ↑ +266%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $4,714.38 ↑ +277%
PHCS Commercial|All Plans $6,071.55 ↑ +386%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $6,428.70 ↑ +414%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Ref Lab $7,143.00 ↑ +471%

Visitor-reported prices

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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

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →