Seattle → MRI of the lower back
MRI of the lower back in Seattle
Across 5 of 11 hospitals, the self-pay price runs from $979 to $2,417 — 2.5× the price for the same billing code.
| Hospital | Self-pay price | List price | Insurers pay | Publishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snoqualmie Valley Hospital snoqualmiehospital.org · Snoqualmie | $452–$3,161 varies | $5,450 | $116–$5,014 | D |
| Swedish Medical Center / Cherry Hill swedish.org · Seattle | $519–$1,057 varies | $2,203 | $276–$1,172 | D |
| Swedish Issaquah swedish.org · Issaquah | $519–$1,057 varies | $2,203 | $277–$1,175 | D |
| Overlake Hospital Medical Center overlakehospital.org · Bellevue | $979 | $1,958 | $277–$2,223 | C |
| Valley Medical Center valleymed.org · Renton | $1,020–$1,029 varies | $1,470 | $277–$927 | C |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center vmfh.org · Seattle | $1,098 | $2,153 | $6–$1,722 | B |
| Multicare Auburn Medical Center multicare.com · Auburn | $1,419–$1,774 varies | $4,435 | $177–$3,238 | D |
| Multicare Covington Medical Center multicare.com · Covington | $1,419–$1,774 varies | $4,435 | $177–$3,238 | D |
| Kaiser Permanente Central Hospital healthy.kaiserpermanente.org · Seattle | $2,080 | $2,600 | $242–$865 | C |
| St Francis Community Hospital chifranciscan.org · Federal Way | $2,146 | $6,839 | $269–$5,130 | C |
| St Elizabeth Hospital chifranciscan.org · Enumclaw | $2,417 | $6,839 | $504–$6,155 | C |
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.