Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at St. Luke's Health - Patients Medical Center

4600 E. Sam Houston Parkway South, Pasadena, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1407990088

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

$4,100.25

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.

$11,715.00

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.

$265.05 with CHC vs $8,786.25 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
CHC Medicaid|All Plans $265.05 ↓ -94%
TCHP Medicaid|All Plans $265.05 ↓ -94%
Wellpoint Medicaid|All Plans $279.00 ↓ -93%
UNITED Medicaid|All Other Plans $284.58 ↓ -93%
HUMANA Medicare|All Plans $357.71 ↓ -91%
KELSEY Medicare|All Plans $357.71 ↓ -91%
CIGNA-HEALTHSPRING Medicare|All Plans $357.71 ↓ -91%
BCBS Medicare|All Plans $357.71 ↓ -91%
AETNA Medicare|All Plans $364.86 ↓ -91%
UNITED Medicare|All Plans $364.86 ↓ -91%
AMERIVANTAGE Medicare|All Plans $368.44 ↓ -91%
UNITED Medicaid|STAR $382.23 ↓ -91%
SCANHealth Medicare|All Plans $382.75 ↓ -91%
DEVOTED Medicare|All Plans $382.75 ↓ -91%
Ambetter Commercial|All Plans $536.57 ↓ -87%
Wellpoint Commercial|Exchange $536.57 ↓ -87%
Community Health Choice Commercial|Exchange $536.57 ↓ -87%
BCBS - TX Commercial|MyBlue Health Exchange $557.50 ↓ -86%
Bright Health Commercial|All Plans $615.81 ↓ -85%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Exchange $649.15 ↓ -84%
UNITED Medicaid|STARPLUS $870.48 ↓ -79%
Cigna Commercial|Surefit $1,015.00 ↓ -75%
Aetna Commercial|Transplant $1,023.00 ↓ -75%
Humana Commercial|PPO $1,050.00 ↓ -74%
Humana Commercial|HMO $1,050.00 ↓ -74%
Cigna Commercial|HMO $1,119.00 ↓ -73%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,145.00 ↓ -72%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Premier $1,183.74 ↓ -71%
BCBS-TX Commercial|HMO $1,477.76 ↓ -64%
United Commercial|Exchange $1,535.00 ↓ -63%
BCBS-TX Commercial|PPO $1,661.05 ↓ -59%
United Commercial|Charter $2,266.00 ↓ -45%
United Commercial|PPO $2,518.00 ↓ -39%
United Commercial|HMO $2,518.00 ↓ -39%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $2,812.00 ↓ -31%
Aetna-Kelsey Care Commercial|HMO $6,911.85 ↑ +69%
Cigna Lifesource Commercial|Transplant $7,029.00 ↑ +71%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $7,614.75 ↑ +86%
Coventry Commercial|PPO $7,614.75 ↑ +86%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $7,966.20 ↑ +94%
Cigna Commercial|Transplant $8,200.50 ↑ +100%
Healthsmart Commercial|PPO $8,200.50 ↑ +100%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $8,786.25 ↑ +114%

Visitor-reported prices

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

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Dallas $2,181.58 $279.00 – $2,726.97
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM Brenham $2,446.79 $494.01 – $3,670.19
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA Suite 110 $2,446.79 $279.00 – $3,058.49
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - CENTENNIAL Frisco $2,181.58 $279.00 – $2,726.97
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - COLLEGE STATION College Station $2,446.79 $298.53 – $3,670.19
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE CONTINUING CARE HOSPITAL Temple $2,446.79 $279.00 – $3,670.19
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CENTER - CEDAR PARK Cedar Park $2,446.79 $279.00 – $3,670.19
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE ALL SAINTS MEDICAL CENTER - FORT WORTH Fort Worth $2,181.58 $279.00 – $2,726.97

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →