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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
2501 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA · Inova · · NPI 1922139120
$1,479.00
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.
$2,958.00
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.
$357.13 with united vs $4,376.99 with carefirst — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| united | medicare advantage | $357.13 | ↓ -76% |
| anthem | medicare advantage | $357.13 | ↓ -76% |
| aetna | medicare advantage | $357.13 | ↓ -76% |
| sentara health | medicare advantage | $364.27 | ↓ -75% |
| kaiser | medicare advantage | $371.42 | ↓ -75% |
| cigna | medicare advantage | $371.42 | ↓ -75% |
| humana | medicare advantage | $392.84 | ↓ -73% |
| anthem | medicaid advantage | $580.28 | ↓ -61% |
| united | medicaid advantage | $591.89 | ↓ -60% |
| sentara health | medicaid advantage | $597.69 | ↓ -60% |
| humana | medicaid advantage | $603.49 | ↓ -59% |
| aetna | medicaid advantage | $609.29 | ↓ -59% |
| kaiser | medicaid advantage | $638.31 | ↓ -57% |
| anthem | exchange hmo | $828.54 | ↓ -44% |
| united | options | $846.20 | ↓ -43% |
| united | exchange | $846.20 | ↓ -43% |
| united | nonoptions | $846.20 | ↓ -43% |
| anthem | hmo | $955.06 | ↓ -35% |
| anthem | ppo | $955.06 | ↓ -35% |
| sentara health | exchange | $1,686.78 | ↑ +14% |
| innovation | fully insured | $2,149.00 | ↑ +45% |
| sentara health | hmo | $2,219.23 | ↑ +50% |
| sentara health | ppo | $2,219.23 | ↑ +50% |
| aetna | fannie-mae | $2,247.51 | ↑ +52% |
| kaiser | ppo | $2,307.24 | ↑ +56% |
| kaiser | hmo | $2,307.24 | ↑ +56% |
| innovation | self insured | $2,589.00 | ↑ +75% |
| aetna | hmo | $2,629.00 | ↑ +78% |
| aetna | ppo | $2,629.00 | ↑ +78% |
| cigna | hmo | $3,280.33 | ↑ +122% |
| cigna | exchange | $3,280.33 | ↑ +122% |
| cigna | ppo | $3,280.33 | ↑ +122% |
| carefirst | hmo | $4,034.21 | ↑ +173% |
| carefirst | ppo | $4,376.99 | ↑ +196% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Virginia hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inova Alexandria Hospital | Alexandria | $1,479.00 | $357.13 – $4,034.21 |
| Inova Fairfax Hospital | Falls Church | $1,479.00 | $357.13 – $4,034.21 |
| Inova Fair Oaks Hospital | VA 22033-1709 | $1,479.00 | $357.13 – $4,034.21 |
| Inova Loudoun Hospital | Leesburg | $1,479.00 | $357.13 – $4,034.21 |