Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Virginia Mason Medical Center
1100 9th Ave., Seattle, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1801851258
$1,877.82
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.
$3,682.00
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.
$10.47 with first choice vs $2,022.35 with coventry - first health — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| first choice | commercial | $10.47 | ↓ -99% |
| confluence health | medicare advantage | $38.90 | ↓ -98% |
| aetna | medicare advantage hmo | $40.61 | ↓ -98% |
| aetna | medicare advantage | $148.93 | ↓ -92% |
| aetna | medicare advantage ppo | $248.45 | ↓ -87% |
| multiplan | medicare advantage | $272.31 | ↓ -85% |
| regence | medicare advantage | $330.66 | ↓ -82% |
| humana | medicare advantage | $368.57 | ↓ -80% |
| humana | choicecare medicare advantage | $368.57 | ↓ -80% |
| united healthcare | medicare advantage | $368.57 | ↓ -80% |
| kaiser foundation | hp medicare | $368.57 | ↓ -80% |
| optum care network | medicare advantage | $368.57 | ↓ -80% |
| united healthcare | commercial | $375.56 | ↓ -80% |
| signal health | medicare advantage | $384.69 | ↓ -80% |
| premera | medicare advantage hmo/ppo | $384.69 | ↓ -80% |
| regence | uniform medical plan | $624.77 | ↓ -67% |
| premera | commercial | $739.36 | ↓ -61% |
| regence | commercial | $829.17 | ↓ -56% |
| kaiser health plan | commercial | $1,091.29 | ↓ -42% |
| cigna | commercial | $1,159.46 | ↓ -38% |
| cigna | local plus | $1,317.58 | ↓ -30% |
| aetna | commercial | $1,961.01 | ↑ +4% |
| coventry - first health | commercial | $2,022.35 | ↑ +8% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $2,259.36 | $403.99 – $1,794.70 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $2,259.36 | $403.99 – $1,737.42 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $3,440.00 | $358.00 – $358.00 |
| Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center | Spokane | $3,837.33 | $375.68 – $427.64 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $3,847.90 | not published |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $5,103.70 | $388.77 – $1,374.66 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $2,259.36 | $405.13 – $1,794.70 |
| Providence Centralia Hospital | Centralia | $2,159.04 | $403.99 – $2,378.93 |