San Diego → MRI of the lower back
MRI of the lower back in San Diego
Across 12 of 13 hospitals, the self-pay price runs from $305 to $3,112 — 10.2× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Valley Hospital paradisevalleyhospital.net · National City | $305 | $3,660 | $181–$611 | B |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital scripps.org · San Diego | $753 | $3,013 | $115–$2,410 | B |
| Scripps Green Hospital scripps.org · La Jolla | $753 | $3,013 | $115–$2,410 | B |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla scripps.org · La Jolla | $753 | $3,013 | $115–$2,410 | B |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital - Encinitas scripps.org · Encinitas | $753 | $3,013 | $115–$2,410 | B |
| Tri-city Medical Center tricitymed.org · Oceanside | $2,096 | $3,493 | $306–$2,756 | C |
| Uc San Diego Health Hillcrest - Hillcrest Med Ctr health.ucsd.edu · San Diego | $2,232 | $4,058 | $164–$11,403 | C |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · San Marcos | $2,496 | $4,800 | $220–$655 | B |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Hlthcr Ctr sharp.com · Coronado | $3,112 | $4,149 | $1–$4,066 | B |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center sharp.com · Chula Vista | $3,112 | $4,149 | $95–$4,066 | B |
| Grossmont Hospital sharp.com · La Mesa | $3,112 | $4,149 | $581–$3,402 | B |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital sharp.com · San Diego | $3,112 | $4,149 | $622–$3,402 | B |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego rchsd.org · San Diego | $5,064–$5,318 varies | $6,752 | $315–$3,065 | D |
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.