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I need an MRI

An MRI of the brain, without contrast dye.

Typical US price before insurance

$1,131

$743typical range$1,842

This is an allowed amount — the price actually negotiated with insurers, not the inflated list price. Source: Health Care Cost Institute — HealthPrices.org (2021–2022 vintage (HCCI does not publish the exact data year)).

A lumbar spine MRI is similar, averaging $1,112. MRI prices vary more by where you go than almost any other procedure.

What Medicare pays for the same care $312

Private insurers pay 3.6× what Medicare pays for this.

All-in: $244 to the hospital plus $68 to the doctor (OPPS/APC, 2024). Divide the two figures above and you get our ratio — check our arithmetic. Source: CMS.

What you'd actually pay

Your coverage

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Where you live

Your state

$1,131

The national average price.

State prices from RAND's hospital price study — how much your state's hospitals charge private insurers relative to Medicare. This is a statewide price level, not a per-procedure state price. Maryland isn't shown: it sets hospital rates for all payers, so the comparison doesn't apply there.

This is an estimate, not a bill. It applies published average deductibles and a 20% coinsurance (KFF's measured average for a hospital admission) to a national average price. Your actual plan, hospital and diagnosis will move this number. Not medical or financial advice.