Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray 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

$714.00

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.

$2,040.00

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.

$38.09 with CHC vs $1,530.00 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 $38.09 ↓ -95%
TCHP Medicaid|All Plans $38.09 ↓ -95%
Wellpoint Medicaid|All Plans $40.10 ↓ -94%
UNITED Medicaid|All Other Plans $40.90 ↓ -94%
UNITED Medicaid|STAR $54.94 ↓ -92%
Cigna Commercial|Surefit $91.58 ↓ -87%
Cigna Commercial|HMO $100.86 ↓ -86%
CIGNA-HEALTHSPRING Medicare|All Plans $106.51 ↓ -85%
KELSEY Medicare|All Plans $106.51 ↓ -85%
HUMANA Medicare|All Plans $106.51 ↓ -85%
BCBS Medicare|All Plans $106.51 ↓ -85%
AETNA Medicare|All Plans $108.64 ↓ -85%
UNITED Medicare|All Plans $108.64 ↓ -85%
AMERIVANTAGE Medicare|All Plans $109.71 ↓ -85%
DEVOTED Medicare|All Plans $113.97 ↓ -84%
SCANHealth Medicare|All Plans $113.97 ↓ -84%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $123.74 ↓ -83%
UNITED Medicaid|STARPLUS $125.11 ↓ -82%
United Commercial|Exchange $140.00 ↓ -80%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Exchange $158.03 ↓ -78%
Ambetter Commercial|All Plans $159.76 ↓ -78%
Community Health Choice Commercial|Exchange $159.76 ↓ -78%
Wellpoint Commercial|Exchange $159.77 ↓ -78%
BCBS - TX Commercial|MyBlue Health Exchange $163.64 ↓ -77%
Bright Health Commercial|All Plans $182.06 ↓ -75%
United Commercial|Charter $209.00 ↓ -71%
United Commercial|PPO $230.00 ↓ -68%
United Commercial|HMO $230.00 ↓ -68%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Premier $286.92 ↓ -60%
BCBS-TX Commercial|HMO $336.24 ↓ -53%
BCBS-TX Commercial|PPO $377.71 ↓ -47%
Aetna-Kelsey Care Commercial|HMO $1,203.60 ↑ +69%
Cigna Lifesource Commercial|Transplant $1,224.00 ↑ +71%
Coventry Commercial|PPO $1,326.00 ↑ +86%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,326.00 ↑ +86%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,387.20 ↑ +94%
Healthsmart Commercial|PPO $1,428.00 ↑ +100%
Cigna Commercial|Transplant $1,428.00 ↑ +100%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,530.00 ↑ +114%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other Texas hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
HCA HOUSTON SOUTHEAST PASADENA $1,885.13 $39.30 – $197.26
Adventhealth Rollins Brook Lampasas $620.07 $431.51 – $431.51
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Dallas $337.54 $40.10 – $421.92
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM Brenham $384.07 $79.05 – $576.10
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA Suite 110 $474.69 $40.10 – $593.36
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - CENTENNIAL Frisco $337.54 $40.10 – $421.92
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - COLLEGE STATION College Station $384.07 $42.91 – $576.10
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE CONTINUING CARE HOSPITAL Temple $384.07 $40.10 – $576.10

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →