Los Angeles → MRI of the lower back
MRI of the lower back in Los Angeles
Across 34 of 48 hospitals, the self-pay price runs from $305 to $7,633 — 25.0× the price for the same billing code.
For scale: Medicare pays hospitals about $244 for this as an outpatient service — the 2026 national rate, before local wage adjustment.
| Hospital | Self-pay price | List price | Insurers pay | Publishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encino Hospital Medical Center encinomed.org · Encino | $305 | $4,182 | $181–$867 | B |
| San Dimas Community Hospital sandimashospital.com · San Dimas | $305 | $6,379 | $181–$2,240 | B |
| Centinela Hospital Medical Center centinelamed.com · Inglewood | $305 | $2,444 | $181–$867 | B |
| Sherman Oaks Hospital shermanoakshospital.org · Sherman Oaks | $305 | $2,800 | $181–$867 | B |
| Casa Colina Hospital casacolina.org · Pomona | $399 | $1,403 | $246–$1,192 | C |
| Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center pvhmc.org · Pomona | $500 | — | $1,205–$6,758 | C |
| Whittier Hospital Medical Center ahmchealth.com · Whittier | $529–$1,059 varies | $5,883 | $54–$5,883 | F |
| Providence Cedars Sinai Tarzana Medical Center providence.org · Tarzana | $742–$2,238 varies | $6,395 | $307–$2,206 | C |
| Providence Holy Cross Medical Center providence.org · Mission Hills | $784–$3,473 varies | $9,923 | $307–$2,124 | C |
| Antelope Valley Hospital avmc.org · Lancaster | $1,260–$1,351 varies | $1,260 | $305–$1,486 | D |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital mlkcommunityhospital.org · Los Angeles | $1,340–$3,489 varies | $18,365 | $58–$14,692 | C |
| St Mary Medical Center chisaintjosephhealth.org · Long Beach | $1,653 | $3,845 | $240–$4,227 | D |
| Torrance Memorial Medical Center providence.org · Torrance | $2,179 | $6,225 | $307–$2,679 | C |
| Providence Little Co of Mary Med Ctr San Pedro providence.org · San Pedro | $2,179 | $6,225 | $307–$2,124 | C |
| Providence Little Company of Mary Med Ctr Torrance providence.org · Torrance | $2,179 | $6,225 | $307–$2,679 | C |
| Usc Arcadia Hospital methodisthospital.org · Arcadia | $2,214 | $6,327 | $293–$6,327 | C |
| Saint John's Health Center providence.org · Santa Monica | $2,228 | $6,365 | $307–$2,872 | C |
| San Gabriel Valley Medical Center ahmchealth.com · San Gabriel | $2,393 | $7,976 | $58–$7,976 | D |
| Northridge Hospital Medical Center chisaintjosephhealth.org · Northridge | $2,426 | $8,695 | $267–$8,695 | C |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Downey healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Downey | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South Bay healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Harbor City | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - West La healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Los Angeles | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Pih Health Downey Hospital healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Downey | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Woodland Hills healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Woodland Hills | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Baldwin Park healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Baldwin Park | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Glendale Mem Hospital & Hlth Center chisaintjosephhealth.org · Glendale | $2,576 | $7,903 | $267–$6,322 | C |
| Pacifica Hospital of the Valley pacificahospital.com · Sun Valley | $2,714 | $2,714 | $182–$2,714 | C |
| Memorial Hospital of Gardena memorialhospitalgardena.com · Gardena | $3,370 | $3,370 | $190–$2,696 | C |
| East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital eladoctorshospital.com · Los Angeles | $3,370 | $3,370 | $190–$2,696 | C |
| Coast Plaza Hospital coastplazahospital.com · Norwalk | $3,370 | $3,370 | $190–$2,696 | C |
| Greater El Monte Community Hospital ahmchealth.com · South El Monte | $3,894–$6,631 varies | $5,321 | $20–$6,631 | D |
| Valley Presbyterian Hospital valleypres.org · Van Nuys | $4,137 | $4,137 | $301–$3,723 | B |
| Uci Health-lakewood ucihealth.org · Lakewood | $4,289 | $10,723 | $307–$798 | C |
| Cedars-sinai Medical Center cedars-sinai.org · Los Angeles | $5,143–$6,686 varies | $7,913 | $301–$4,884 | C |
| Keck Hospital of Usc methodisthospital.org · Los Angeles | $5,213 | $5,213 | $307–$5,207 | C |
| Usc Verdugo Hills Hospital methodisthospital.org · Glendale | $5,343 | $5,343 | $307–$2,579 | C |
| Mission Community Hospital mountainstar.com · Panorama City | $6,388 | $6,388 | $369–$3,430 | C |
| Monterey Park Hospital ahmchealth.com · Monterey Park | $7,020 | $7,020 | $58–$7,020 | C |
| Alhambra Hospital Medical Center alhambrahospital.com · Alhambra | $7,440 | $7,440 | $186–$7,440 | C |
| Garfield Medical Center ahmchealth.com · Monterey Park | $7,612 | $7,612 | $58–$7,612 | D |
| Memorialcare Long Beach Medical Center memorialcare.org · Long Beach | $7,633 | $7,633 | $199–$6,293 | C |
| Lac/olive View-ucla Medical Center dhs.lacounty.gov · Sylmar | not published | $2,683 | $72–$2,683 | F |
| Los Angeles General Medical Center dhs.lacounty.gov · Los Angeles | not published | $2,683 | $72–$2,683 | F |
| Lac/rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Ctr dhs.lacounty.gov · Downey | not published | $2,683 | $72–$2,683 | F |
| Lac/harbor-ucla Med Center dhs.lacounty.gov · Torrance | not published | $2,683 | $72–$2,683 | F |
| Ucla West Valley Medical Center uclahealth.org · West Hills | not published | — | $186–$737 | F |
| Ronald Reagan Ucla Medical Center uclahealth.org · Los Angeles | not published | — | $186–$881 | F |
| Santa Monica - Ucla Med Ctr & Orthopaedic Hospital uclahealth.org · Santa Monica | not published | — | $186–$881 | F |
What these three numbers mean
Self-pay price is what the hospital says it charges someone paying directly. It is the number to ask for by name. List price is the undiscounted charge almost nobody pays. Insurers pay is the range of procedure-specific negotiated rates in the file — useful mainly to see whether the self-pay price is above or below what insurers get.
Some hospitals attach one flat rate to nearly their whole price list. Those are excluded here, because a number identical for a colonoscopy and a blood test says nothing about either. More on that →
Billing code CPT 72148 —
MRI lumbar spine without contrast. Every price on this page is read from the hospital's
own published file; open a hospital to see which file and when it was read.