Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Ascension St. Francis Hospital, Inc.
3237 S. 16th St, Milwaukee, WI · Ascension · · NPI 1225087190
$1,341.96
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.
$2,532.00
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.
$234.71 with VETERANS ADMINISTRATION vs $1,974.96 with CIGNA — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VETERANS ADMINISTRATION | 1208_VETERAN ADMINISTRATION OUTPATIENT 20250101 | $234.71 | ↓ -83% |
| VETERANS ADMINISTRATION | 1323_VETERAN ADMINISTRATION INPATIENT 20251001 | $234.71 | ↓ -83% |
| MEDICARE REPLACEMENT | 1205_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT OUTPATIENT 20250101 | $234.71 | ↓ -83% |
| MEDICARE REPLACEMENT | 1321_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT INPATIENT 20251001 | $234.71 | ↓ -83% |
| WPS | 1272_WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES PPO 20250701 | $254.16 | ↓ -81% |
| SMART HEALTH | 1317_SMARTHEALTH INPATIENT 20251001 | $328.59 | ↓ -76% |
| SMART HEALTH | 1206_SMARTHEALTH OUTPATIENT 20250101 | $328.59 | ↓ -76% |
| UNITED HEALTH CARE | 1282_UNITED HEALTH CARE 20250701 | $517.79 | ↓ -61% |
| TRILOGY | 1271_TRILOGY 20250701 | $836.00 | ↓ -38% |
| CIGNA | 1273_CIGNA 20250701 | $1,974.96 | ↑ +47% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other Wisconsin hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) | Milwaukee | $2,067.00 | $116.26 – $517.79 |
| Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus | Milwaukee | $1,341.96 | $234.71 – $836.00 |
| Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) | Mequon | $2,158.16 | $116.26 – $517.79 |
| UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital | Madison | $2,118.84 | $65.34 – $1,529.00 |
| SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo | Baraboo | $2,318.25 | $173.82 – $1,591.98 |
| SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville | Janesville | $2,586.10 | $180.25 – $1,142.48 |
| SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison | Madison | $2,506.90 | $173.82 – $1,198.66 |
| SSM Health Monroe Hospital | Monroe | $2,704.90 | $231.76 – $390.72 |