Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at MEDICAL CITY ALLIANCE HOSPITAL

727 W BAILEY BOSWELL RD, SAGINAW, TX · Medicalcityhealthcare · · NPI 1871911016

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 16, 2026

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

$173.75 with United vs $7,484.99 with Independent Medical Systems — 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
United CHIP $173.75
Amerigroup CHIP $173.75
Parkland Community Health Plan MCD $173.75
Cook Childrens Health Plan STAR $173.75
Cook Childrens Health Plan CHIP $173.75
United STARPerinate $173.75
United STARPLUS $173.75
United STARKids $173.75
United STAR $173.75
Amerigroup MGMCD $173.75
Cigna Healthspring MGMCD $182.44
Aetna Better Health MCD $187.65
Aetna Better Health CHIP $187.65
Molina STARKIDS $191.13
Molina MCDSTAR $191.13
Molina CHIP $191.13
Molina STAR+PLUS $191.13
Humana MGMCD $217.19
BCBS MyBlueHealth $481.13
BCBS BlueAdvantageHMO $481.13
Superior Health Plan STARKids $523.95
Superior Health Plan STARHealth $523.95
Superior Health Plan MCDSTAR $523.95
Superior Health Plan STARPLUS $523.95
Superior Health Plan CHIP $523.95
BCBS BluePremier $530.77
Aetna QHPHIX $584.00
United NarrowNetworkIndivExchange $616.10
United SmallGroup $616.10
Humana COMM $670.66
Aetna NewBusiness $800.00
United AllPayerAppendix $828.27
Aetna Meritain $856.00
Aetna COMM $856.00
Aetna OON $1,006.00
Cigna IFP $1,010.47
Cigna QHP $1,047.90
BCBS BlueEssentials $1,485.40
BCBS BlueEssentialsAccess $1,485.40
BCBS EPOSOA $1,557.95
BCBS PPO $1,630.50
United OptionsPPO $1,699.09
Healthcare Highways CityofPlano $2,529.93
BCBS Traditional $3,323.34
Aetna ASA $3,944.59
Aetna Coventry First Health COMM $5,441.59
HealthSmart Preferred Care PPO $5,613.74
National Healthcare Solutions COMM $7,484.99
Independent Medical Systems COMM $7,484.99

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 →